Emerging Vector borne diseases

Question 1

What are tick borne diseases?

Answer 1

*Lyme disease
*Tick-borne rickettsias
*African swine fever

Question 2

What are mosquito borne diseases?

Answer 2

*Dengue / chikungunya / Zika
-spread by Aedes
*West nile / Usutu
-spread by Culex

Question 3

What are midge borne disease?

Answer 3

*Bluetongue
*African horse sickness

Question 4

What are vector borne disease?

Answer 4

 A disease caused by a pathogen spread by an arthropod host
(insect, tick, crustacean)

Question 5

What are examples of hard ticks?

Answer 5

*Ixodes
*Rhipicephalus
*Hyalomma

Question 6

What is an example of a soft tick?

Answer 6

*Ornithodorus

Question 7

What is lyme disease?

Answer 7

Borrelia burgdorferi

Question 8

What does lyme cause in humans?

Answer 8

*rash
*flu
*fatigue
*joint pain
*neuroborreliosis

Question 9

What does lyme cause in dogs?

Answer 9

*fever
*lameness
*joint swelling (Lyme arthropathy, polyarthritis)
*swollen lymph nodes
*lethargy
*inappetance

Question 10

Why is there a larger Ixodes problem in the UK?

Answer 10

Deer tick - highest population of deer in UK since Roman times

Question 11

What are vectors of babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis?

Answer 11

*Ixodes ricinus
*Dermacentor reticulatus - ornate cow tick
*Rhipicephalus sanguineus - brown dog tick

Question 12

What are the reasons for increased emergence of tick borne diseases?

Answer 12

*Spread of ticks – related to climate
*Increased numbers and spread of hosts - deer
*Increased movements of animals (eg, dogs)
*Spread of viruses or ticks by migratory birds
*Changes in international regulations – stopping of tick treatments for imported dogs

Question 13

how is African swine fever transmitted?

Answer 13

Soft tick - ornithodorus
Feed
Aerosol

Question 14

What type of virus is African swine fever?

Answer 14

Only DNA arbovirus

Question 15

What does african swine fever cause?

Answer 15

Fatal haemorrhagic disease of pigs

Question 16

What is the significance of it being a DNA virus?

Answer 16

Highly stable
-survive 15 weeks in chilled meats
-6-9 months in cured meats
-15years in frozen meats

Question 17

What is the Asian Tiger mosquito?

Answer 17

Aedes albopictus

Question 18

Where do Aedes lay their eggs?

Answer 18

In water

Question 19

What can Aedes spread?

Answer 19

*dengue
*Chikungunya
*Zika
*Dirofilaria

Question 20

What are the drivers of spread of Aedes?

Answer 20

Global trade (in tyres, plants)
Road transport
Facilitated by climate change

Question 21

What is West nile virus spread by?

Answer 21

Culex mosquitos

Question 22

What are the natural hosts of west nile?

Answer 22

Birds

Question 23

What does west nile cause in horses + humans?

Answer 23

Horses = severe disease + death
Humans = Fatal neurological disease

Question 24

What is the relevance of Culex pipiens molestus?

Answer 24

It likes to feed on mammals
Found in the UK
May cause West Nile in UK soon

Question 25

What is Usutu?

Answer 25

Mosquito borne disease found in UK
*doesn’t cause disease in humans though

Question 26

What does bluetongue cause?
How is it transmitted?

Answer 26

Transmitted by culicoides
Causes severe disease in sheep + mild in cattle

Question 27

How is African horse sickness transmitted? What does it cause?

Answer 27

Transmitted by culicoides
Causes severe disease in horses + Mild in mules/donkeys

Question 28

What are the drivers of emergence of Bluetongue?

Answer 28

Climate change
-Causing midges to spread
-Increasing their vector competence

Global movements of animals/goods - bringing the viruses into Europe