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Mubemba B, Mburu MM, Changula K, Muleya W, Moonga LC, Chambaro HM, Kajihara M, Qiu Y, Orba Y, Hayashida K, Sutcliffe CG, Norris DE, Thuma PE, Ndubani P, Chitanga S, Sawa H, Takada A, Simulundu E. Current knowledge of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens in Zambia: A clarion call to scaling-up "One Health" research in the wake of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010193. [PMID: 35120135 PMCID: PMC8849493 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Although vector-borne zoonotic diseases are a major public health threat globally, they are usually neglected, especially among resource-constrained countries, including those in sub-Saharan Africa. This scoping review examined the current knowledge and identified research gaps of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens in Zambia. Methods and findings Major scientific databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, CABI, Scientific Information Database (SID)) were searched for articles describing vector-borne (mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and tsetse flies) zoonotic pathogens in Zambia. Several mosquito-borne arboviruses have been reported including Yellow fever, Ntaya, Mayaro, Dengue, Zika, West Nile, Chikungunya, Sindbis, and Rift Valley fever viruses. Flea-borne zoonotic pathogens reported include Yersinia pestis and Rickettsia felis. Trypanosoma sp. was the only tsetse fly-borne pathogen identified. Further, tick-borne zoonotic pathogens reported included Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic fever virus, Rickettsia sp., Anaplasma sp., Ehrlichia sp., Borrelia sp., and Coxiella burnetii. Conclusions This study revealed the presence of many vector-borne zoonotic pathogens circulating in vectors and animals in Zambia. Though reports of human clinical cases were limited, several serological studies provided considerable evidence of zoonotic transmission of vector-borne pathogens in humans. However, the disease burden in humans attributable to vector-borne zoonotic infections could not be ascertained from the available reports and this precludes the formulation of national policies that could help in the control and mitigation of the impact of these diseases in Zambia. Therefore, there is an urgent need to scale-up “One Health” research in emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases to enable the country to prepare for future epidemics, including pandemics. Despite vector-borne zoonoses being a major public health threat globally, they are often overlooked, particularly among resource-constrained countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Zambia. Therefore, we reviewed the current knowledge and identified research gaps of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens in Zambia. We focussed on mosquito-, tick-, flea- and tsetse fly-borne zoonotic pathogens reported in the country. Although we found evidence of circulation of several vector-borne zoonotic pathogens among vectors, animals and humans, clinical cases in humans were rarely reported. This suggests sparse capacity for diagnosis of vector-borne pathogens in healthcare facilities in the country and possibly limited awareness and knowledge of the local epidemiology of these infectious agents. Establishment of facility-based surveillance of vector-borne zoonoses in health facilities could provide valuable insights on morbidity, disease severity, and mortalities associated with infections as well as immune responses. In addition, there is also need for increased genomic surveillance of vector-borne pathogens in vectors and animals and humans for a better understanding of the molecular epidemiology of these diseases in Zambia. Furthermore, vector ecology studies aimed at understanding the drivers of vector abundance, pathogen host range (i.e., including the range of vectors and reservoirs), parasite-host interactions and factors influencing frequency of human-vector contacts should be prioritized. The study revealed the need for Zambia to scale-up One Health research in emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases to enable the country to be better prepared for future epidemics, including pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Mubemba
- Department of Wildlife Sciences, School of Natural Resources, Copperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Copperbelt University, Ndola, Zambia
| | | | - Katendi Changula
- Department of Paraclinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Walter Muleya
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Lavel C. Moonga
- Division of Collaboration and Education, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Herman M. Chambaro
- Division of Molecular Pathobiology, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Masahiro Kajihara
- Division of Global Epidemiology, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Yongjin Qiu
- Division of International Research Promotion, Hokkaido University International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Yasuko Orba
- Division of Molecular Pathobiology, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- International Collaboration Unit, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Kyoko Hayashida
- Division of Collaboration and Education, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- International Collaboration Unit, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Catherine G. Sutcliffe
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Douglas E. Norris
- The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | | | | | - Simbarashe Chitanga
- Department of Paraclinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
- School of Life Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Hirofumi Sawa
- Division of Molecular Pathobiology, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- Division of International Research Promotion, Hokkaido University International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Sapporo, Japan
- International Collaboration Unit, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
- Africa Centre of Excellence for Infectious Diseases of Humans and Animals, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
- Global Virus Network, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- One Health Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Ayato Takada
- Division of Global Epidemiology, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
- Africa Centre of Excellence for Infectious Diseases of Humans and Animals, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
- * E-mail: (AT); (ES)
| | - Edgar Simulundu
- Macha Research Trust, Choma, Zambia
- Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
- * E-mail: (AT); (ES)
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