Towards harmonisation of entomological surveillance in the Mediterranean area.

• Published in: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Frédéric Jourdain, Abdallah M Samy, Afrim Hamidi, Ali Bouattour, Bülent Alten, Chafika Faraj, David Roiz, Dušan Petrić, Elisa Pérez-Ramírez, Enkeledja Velo, Filiz Günay, Golubinka Bosevska, Ibrahim Salem, Igor Pajovic, Jelena Marić, Khalil Kanani, Lusine Paronyan, Maria-Grazia Dente, Marie Picard, Marija Zgomba, M'hammed Sarih, Nabil Haddad, Oleksandr Gaidash, Roena Sukhiasvili, Silvia Declich, Taher Shaibi, Tatiana Sulesco, Zoubir Harrat, Vincent Robert
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007314; https://doaj.org/article/b6ee38ee66dd466892ab7beccd5b9b80

Background The Mediterranean Basin is historically a hotspot for trade, transport, and migration. As a result, countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea share common public health threats. Among them are vector-borne diseases, and in particular, mosquito-borne viral diseases are prime candidates as (re)emerging diseases and are likely to spread across the area. Improving preparedness and response capacities to these threats at the regional level is therefore a major issue. The implementation of entomological surveillance is, in particular, of utmost importance. Guidance in designing entomological surveillance systems is critical, and these systems may pursue different specific objectives depending on the disease. The purpose of the proposed review is to draw up guidelines for designing effective and sustainable entomological surveillance systems in order to improve preparedness and response. However, we make it clear that there is no universal surveillance system, so the thinking behind harmonisation is to define evidence-based standards in order to promote best practises, identify the most appropriate surveillance activities, and optimise the use of resources. Such guidance is aimed at policymakers and diverse stakeholders and is intended to be used as a framework for the implementation of entomological surveillance programmes. It will also be useful to collaborate and share information with health professionals involved in other areas of disease surveillance. Medical entomologists and vector control professionals will be able to refer to this report to advocate for tailored entomological surveillance strategies. The main threats targeted in this review are the vectors of dengue virus, chikungunya virus, Zika virus, West Nile virus, and Rift Valley fever virus. The vectors of all these arboviruses are mosquitoes. Methods Current knowledge on vector surveillance in the Mediterranean area is reviewed. The analysis was carried out by a collaboration of the medical entomology experts in the region, all of whom ...