Past, present, and future of insect-borne diseases

Nicoletti, Marcello

The progressive emergence of resistant populations is now a common feature for insecticides and antibiotics, as a consequence of overuse and/or incorrect utilization. The phenomenon is changing the scenario of the battle against micropathogens and parasites, as well as the control of the vectors, requiring solutions to new forms of old problems. These solutions must ignore the axiom “kill the target with the best weapon” and consider all the consequences of counteractions. In this changing point of view, the environment plays a central role, being the main driving force of any biological change and interconnected with the living systems. From the latter consideration, the concept of a “superorganism” allows an interpretation of insect-borne diseases as the convergent and coordinate action of several types of organisms, which are also very different and taxonomically distant. This chapter is dedicated to the presentation of the general concepts leading the results and experimental data further reported. The resistance phenomenon is the central argument. Considering the complexity of the matter and links with other items, resistance will considered several times during the chapter, increasing the level of information each time.