Parasites and wildlife in a changing world: The vector-host- pathogen interaction as a learning case

Rizzoli, Annapaola; Tagliapietra, Valentina; Cagnacci, Francesca; Marini, Giovanni; Arnoldi, Daniele; Rosso, Fausta; Rosà, Roberto

Within the temperate areas of the northern hemisphere wildlife zoonoses carried by ticks pose the greatest challenge when compared to mosquito-borne infection. In general, reported cases of vector-borne infections have increased during the last 30 years in the northern hemisphere (Semenza and Suk, 2018) . In Europe, the most challenging infections include Ixodes ricinus transmitted diseases such as Lyme borreliosis (LB) and Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) with an average number of 85.000 and 16.000 cases reported annually respectively. Other tick-borne diseases with rising public health concern include rickettsiosis and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever. Mosquito borne diseases of concern include viral infection induced by WNV, Usutu virus (USUV) and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), while others (i.e. dengue virus, Plasmodium spp.) still represent a potential threat with few sporadic autochthonous episodes of local circulation, especially within the countries of the Mediterranean basin.