Global Vector-borne Diseases: Novel Approaches to Control

Call for Papers

Despite great advances in public health worldwide, insect-transmitted infectious diseases remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Additionally, the global impact of insect-transmitted diseases to agriculture exceeds $100 billion annually. Newly emerging patterns of certain vector-borne diseases such as malaria, West Nile encephalitis, tick-borne diseases, and dengue fever underscore the impact of arthropod-borne illnesses. Currently, the best methods for control of many insect-borne diseases involve the use of chemical pesticides. Such campaigns may, in the short term, yield spectacular results. Malaria was nearly eliminated from the Indian subcontinent, and Chagas disease is rapidly being vanquished in South America. However, insecticide campaigns are hampered in several ways. Environmental toxicity and adverse effects on human health limit the use of many chemical pesticides. Emergence of insect resistance to a wide variety of insecticides has greatly undermined their efficacy. The cost of repeated applications of pesticides is often prohibitive. Therefore, the wholesale elimination of insect pests is neither practical nor probable. Given the tremendous burden of arthropod-borne diseases on global health, it is imperative that novel approaches be developed for the control and treatment of these scourges.

The editors solicit current articles that offer either new research directions or comprehensive reviews related to various aspects of global vector-borne diseases. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Evolving methods for genetic modulation of arthropod vectors that involve either transgenic or paratransgenic manipulation of insects.
• Novel strategies for delivery of foreign genes and/or molecules to field populations of disease-transmitting arthropods
• Current molecular and genetic approaches to understanding pathogenesis of major vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and leishmaniasis
• Novel therapeutic strategies—pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic—for major vector-borne diseases that offer new paradigms for global control
• Current epidemiological surveys of major vector-borne diseases that focus on evolving aspects of disease and/or vector prevalence
• Novel vaccine strategies directed at major vector-borne diseases
• Evolving elements of vector ecology as they pertain to current disease transmission patterns
• Assessment of the global impact of arthropods on food production and food security in developing regions of the world

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.tswj.com/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.tswj.com/author/submit/biotechnology/vector/ according to the following timetable:

Lead Guest Editor

• Ravi Durvasula, Center for Global Health, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

Guest Editors

• Douglas Perkins, Center for Global Health, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
• Abhay Satoskar, School of Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA