Dataset Information

The Threat of Vector-Borne Diseases in Sierra Leone.

ABSTRACT: Sierra Leone is vulnerable to a wide range of vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, tsetse flies, black flies, and other vectors. Malaria, lymphatic filariasis, and onchocerciasis have posed the greatest threat and have received the most attention in terms of vector control and capacity for diagnosis. However, malaria infection rates remain high, and there is evidence of circulation of other vector-borne diseases, such as chikungunya and dengue, which may go undiagnosed and unreported. The limited understanding of the prevalence and transmission of these diseases restricts the capacity for predicting outbreaks, and impedes the planning of appropriate responses. We review the available literature and gather expert opinions from those working in the country to report on the status of vector-borne disease transmission and control in Sierra Leone, and present an assessment of the threats of these diseases. Our discussions highlight an absence of entomological testing for disease agents and the need for more investment in surveillance and capacity strengthening.

SUBMITTER: Jones RT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10323989 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Threat of Vector-Borne Diseases in Sierra Leone.

Jones Robert T RT Tytheridge Scott J SJ Smith Samuel J SJ Levine Rebecca S RS Hodges Mary H MH Ansumana Rashid R Wulff Sophie S Whitworth Jimmy J Logan James G JG

The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 20230605 1

Sierra Leone is vulnerable to a wide range of vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, tsetse flies, black flies, and other vectors. Malaria, lymphatic filariasis, and onchocerciasis have posed the greatest threat and have received the most attention in terms of vector control and capacity for diagnosis. However, malaria infection rates remain high, and there is evidence of circulation of other vector-borne diseases, such as chikungunya and dengue, which may go undiagnosed and unreported ...[more]

PMID: 37277107

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Project description:After a request from the European Commission, EFSA's Panel on Animal Health and Welfare summarised the main characteristics of 36 vector-borne diseases (VBDs) in https://efsa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/PublicGallery/index.html?appid=dfbeac92aea944599ed1eb754aa5e6d1. The risk of introduction in the EU through movement of livestock or pets was assessed for each of the 36 VBDs individually, using a semiquantitative Method to INTegrate all relevant RISK aspects (MINTRISK model), which was further modified to a European scale into the http://www3.lei.wur.nl/mintrisk/ModelMgt.aspx. Only eight of the 36 VBD-agents had an overall rate of introduction in the EU (being the combination of the rate of entry, vector transmission and establishment) which was estimated to be above 0.001 introductions per year. These were Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, bluetongue virus, West Nile virus, Schmallenberg virus, Hepatozoon canis, Leishmania infantum, Bunyamwera virus and Highlands J. virus. For these eight diseases, the annual extent of spread was assessed, assuming the implementation of available, authorised prevention and control measures in the EU. Further, the probability of overwintering was assessed, as well as the possible impact of the VBDs on public health, animal health and farm production. For the other 28 VBD-agents for which the rate of introduction was estimated to be very low, no further assessments were made. Due to the uncertainty related to some parameters used for the risk assessment or the instable or unpredictability disease situation in some of the source regions, it is recommended to update the assessment when new information becomes available. Since this risk assessment was carried out for large regions in the EU for many VBD-agents, it should be considered as a first screening. If a more detailed risk assessment for a specific VBD is wished for on a national or subnational level, the EFSA-VBD-RISK-model is freely available for this purpose.

Project description:Introduction:Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of mortality globally. In Africa, they are expected to increase by 25% by 2030. However, very little is known about community perceptions of risk factors and factors influencing health-seeking behaviour, especially in fragile settings. Understanding these is critical to effectively address this epidemic, especially in low-resource settings. Methods:We use participatory group model building techniques to probe knowledge and perceptions of NCD conditions and their causes, health-seeking patterns for NCDs and factors affecting these health-seeking patterns. Our participants were 116 local leaders and community members in three sites in Western Area (urban) and Bombali District (rural), Sierra Leone. Data were analysed using a prior framework for NCD care seeking developed in Ghana. Results:Our findings suggest adequate basic knowledge of causes and symptoms of the common NCDs, in rural and urban areas, although there is a tendency to highlight and react to severe symptoms. Urban and rural communities have access to a complex network of formal and informal, traditional and biomedical, spiritual and secular health providers. We highlight multiple narratives of causal factors which community members can hold, and how these and social networks influence their care seeking. Care seeking is influenced by a number of factors, including supply-side factors (proximity and cost), previous experiences of care, disease-specific factors, such as acute presentation, and personal and community beliefs about the appropriateness of different strategies. Conclusion:This article adds to the limited literature on community understanding of NCDs and its associated health-seeking behaviour in fragile settings. It is important to further elucidate these factors, which power hybrid journeys including non-care seeking, failure to prevent and self-manage effectively, and considerable expenditure for households, in order to improve prevention and management of NCDs in fragile settings such as Sierra Leone.

Project description:Many vector-borne diseases lack effective vaccines and medications, and the limitations of traditional vector control have inspired novel approaches based on using genetic engineering to manipulate vector populations and thereby reduce transmission. Yet both the short- and long-term epidemiological effects of these transgenic strategies are highly uncertain. If neither vaccines, medications, nor transgenic strategies can by themselves suffice for managing vector-borne diseases, integrating these approaches becomes key. Here we develop a framework to evaluate how clinical interventions (i.e., vaccination and medication) can be integrated with transgenic vector manipulation strategies to prevent disease invasion and reduce disease incidence. We show that the ability of clinical interventions to accelerate disease suppression can depend on the nature of the transgenic manipulation deployed (e.g., whether vector population reduction or replacement is attempted). We find that making a specific, individual strategy highly effective may not be necessary for attaining public-health objectives, provided suitable combinations can be adopted. However, we show how combining only partially effective antimicrobial drugs or vaccination with transgenic vector manipulations that merely temporarily lower vector competence can amplify disease resurgence following transient suppression. Thus, transgenic vector manipulation that cannot be sustained can have adverse consequences-consequences which ineffective clinical interventions can at best only mitigate, and at worst temporarily exacerbate. This result, which arises from differences between the time scale on which the interventions affect disease dynamics and the time scale of host population dynamics, highlights the importance of accounting for the potential delay in the effects of deploying public health strategies on long-term disease incidence. We find that for systems at the disease-endemic equilibrium, even modest perturbations induced by weak interventions can exhibit strong, albeit transient, epidemiological effects. This, together with our finding that under some conditions combining strategies could have transient adverse epidemiological effects suggests that a relatively long time horizon may be necessary to discern the efficacy of alternative intervention strategies.

Dataset Information

The Threat of Vector-Borne Diseases in Sierra Leone.

Publications

The Threat of Vector-Borne Diseases in Sierra Leone.

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