One Health, many approaches: integrated vector management strategies support One Health goals

Abstract

Integrated pest management (IPM) laid the foundation for integrated vector management (IVM) by introducing strategies that prioritize prevention over intervention and the use of diverse management and control tools for arthropod vectors. Both approaches focus on reducing chemical reliance for management of targeted organisms by employing data-driven decisions and incorporating the use of additional non-chemical based management tactics. While IPM and IVM differ in their specific applications and management contexts, many of their fundamental principles remain the same. By diversifying prevention and control options, these management practices support healthier environments, animals, and populace, the three spheres of the One Health paradigm. One Health principles support and highlight the connections between animal, human, and environmental health and how these spheres influence one another. However, the connections and overlapping goals between IVM and One Health are infrequently discussed in tandem. This review will examine the numerous and varied methods of IVM for reducing global disease burden, detail the benefits of using IVM to achieve One Health goals, as well as benefits and considerations to incorporating a One Health lens with IVM.

Keywords: One Health; integrated vector management; pest management; vector control; vector-borne disease.

Figure 1

The integration of One Health principles within an Integrated Vector Management (IVM) plan. Integrated vector management promotes the use of all available tools to manage vectors and vector-borne disease with the ultimate goal of protecting human, environmental, and animal health when implementing and evaluating IVM plans. When designing an IVM plan, the three interconnected spheres of One Health should be considered in every step of the plan to ensure healthy people, animals, and environments.

Figure 2

Management strategies involved in an integrated vector management (IVM) plan. Integrated vector management involves the use of multiple approaches for vector and vector-borne disease management. Moving from left to right shifts the focus from prevention-based tactics to intervention-based tactics, with the latter initiating control based on data and action thresholds. As a whole, IVM plans should incorporate diverse strategies to ensure a balanced and ecologically sound control approach. These management strategies fall under the “Utilizing all available tools” step in an IVM plan ( Figure 1 ) and should be frequently evaluated and adjusted to changing needs.