Enzootic Arbovirus Surveillance in Forest Habitat and Phylogenetic Characterization of Novel Isolates of Gamboa Virus in Panama

Landscape changes occurring in Panama, a country whose geographic location and climate have historically supported arbovirus transmission, prompted the hypothesis that arbovirus prevalence increases with degradation of tropical forest habitats. Investigations at four variably degraded sites revealed a diverse array of potential mosquito vectors, several of which are known vectors of arbovirus pathogens. Overall, 675 pools consisting of 25,787 mosquitoes and representing 29 species from nine genera (collected at ground and canopy height across all habitats) were screened for cytopathic viruses on Vero cells. We detected four isolates of Gamboa virus (family: Bunyaviridae; genus: Orthobunyavirus) from pools of Aedeomyia squamipennis captured at canopy level in November 2012. Phylogenetic characterization of complete genome sequences shows the new isolates to be closely related to each other with strong evidence of reassortment among the M segment of Panamanian Gamboa isolates and several other viruses of this group. At the site yielding viruses, Soberanía National Park in central Panama, 18 mosquito species were identified, and the predominant taxa included A. squamipennis, Coquillettidia nigricans, and Mansonia titillans.Landscape changes occurring in Panama, a country whose geographic location and climate have historically supported arbovirus transmission, prompted the hypothesis that arbovirus prevalence increases with degradation of tropical forest habitats. Investigations at four variably degraded sites revealed a diverse array of potential mosquito vectors, several of which are known vectors of arbovirus pathogens. Overall, 675 pools consisting of 25,787 mosquitoes and representing 29 species from nine genera (collected at ground and canopy height across all habitats) were screened for cytopathic viruses on Vero cells. We detected four isolates of Gamboa virus (family: Bunyaviridae; genus: Orthobunyavirus) from pools of Aedeomyia squamipennis captured at canopy level in November 2012. Phylogenetic characterization of complete genome sequences shows the new isolates to be closely related to each other with strong evidence of reassortment among the M segment of Panamanian Gamboa isolates and several other viruses of this group. At the site yielding viruses, Soberanía National Park in central Panama, 18 mosquito species were identified, and the predominant taxa included A. squamipennis, Coquillettidia nigricans, and Mansonia titillans

Forest disturbance and vector transmitted diseases in thelowland tropical rainforest of central Panama

objective To explore possible changes in the community attributes of haematophagous insects as afunction of forest disturbance. We compare the patterns of diversity and abundance, plus thebehavioural responses of three epidemiologically distinct vector assemblages across sites depictingvarious levels of forest cover.methods Over a 3-year period, we sampled mosquitoes, sandflies and biting-midges in forestedhabitats of central Panama. We placed CDC light traps in the forest canopy and in the understorey togather blood-seeking females.results We collected 168 405 adult haematophagous dipterans in total, including 26 genera and 86species. Pristine forest settings were always more taxonomically diverse than the disturbed forest sites,confirming that disturbance has a negative impact on species richness. Species of Phlebotominae andCulicoides were mainly classified as climax (i.e. forest specialist) or disturbance-generalist, which tendto decrease in abundance along with rising levels of disturbance. In contrast, a significant portion ofmosquito species, including primary and secondary disease vectors, was classified as colonists (i.e.disturbed-areas specialists), which tend to increase in numbers towards more disturbed forest habitats.At pristine forest, the most prevalent species of Phlebotominae and Culicoides partitioned the verticalniche by being active at the forest canopy or in the understorey; yet this pattern was less clear indisturbed habitats. Most mosquito species were not vertically stratified in their habitat preference.conclusion We posit that entomological risk and related pathogen exposure to humans is higher inpristine forest scenarios for Culicoides and Phlebotominae transmitted diseases, whereas forestdisturbance poses a higher entomological risk for mosquito-borne infections. This suggests that theDilution Effect Hypothesis (DEH) does not apply in tropical rainforests where highly abundant, yetunrecognised insect vectors and neglected zoonotic diseases occur. Comprehensive, community levelentomological surveillance is, therefore, the key for predicting potential disease spill over in scenariosof pristine forest intermixed with anthropogenic habitats. We suggest that changes in forest qualityshould also be considered when assessing arthropod-borne disease transmission risk.objective To explore possible changes in the community attributes of haematophagous insects as afunction of forest disturbance. We compare the patterns of diversity and abundance, plus thebehavioural responses of three epidemiologically distinct vector assemblages across sites depictingvarious levels of forest cover.methods Over a 3-year period, we sampled mosquitoes, sandflies and biting-midges in forestedhabitats of central Panama. We placed CDC light traps in the forest canopy and in the understorey togather blood-seeking females.results We collected 168 405 adult haematophagous dipterans in total, including 26 genera and 86species. Pristine forest settings were always more taxonomically diverse than the disturbed forest sites,confirming that disturbance has a negative impact on species richness. Species of Phlebotominae andCulicoides were mainly classified as climax (i.e. forest specialist) or disturbance-generalist, which tendto decrease in abundance along with rising levels of disturbance. In contrast, a significant portion ofmosquito species, including primary and secondary disease vectors, was classified as colonists (i.e.disturbed-areas specialists), which tend to increase in numbers towards more disturbed forest habitats.At pristine forest, the most prevalent species of Phlebotominae and Culicoides partitioned the verticalniche by being active at the forest canopy or in the understorey; yet this pattern was less clear indisturbed habitats. Most mosquito species were not vertically stratified in their habitat preference.conclusion We posit that entomological risk and related pathogen exposure to humans is higher inpristine forest scenarios for Culicoides and Phlebotominae transmitted diseases, whereas forestdisturbance poses a higher entomological risk for mosquito-borne infections. This suggests that theDilution Effect Hypothesis (DEH) does not apply in tropical rainforests where highly abundant, yetunrecognised insect vectors and neglected zoonotic diseases occur. Comprehensive, community levelentomological surveillance is, therefore, the key for predicting potential disease spill over in scenariosof pristine forest intermixed with anthropogenic habitats. We suggest that changes in forest qualityshould also be considered when assessing arthropod-borne disease transmission risk

Planetary health: from concept to decisive action.

Planetary health sets the ambitious task of understanding the dynamic and systemic relationships between global environmental changes, their effects on natural systems, and how changes to natural systems affect human health and wellbeing at multiple scales: global (eg, climate), regional (eg, transboundary fire emissions), and local (eg, persistent organic pollutants). By emphasising interconnections between human health and environmental changes and enabling holistic thinking about overlapping challenges and integrated solutions for present and future generations, the concept of planetary health offers an opportunity to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including identification of co-benefits across targets, encouraging effective cross-sector action and partnerships, and ensuring policy coherence. In turn, the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offers substantial opportunities to advance planetary health. As the scientific evidence strengthens and public appreciation of humanity's dependence on the state of natural systems increases, now is the time to move from concept to decisive action to protect planetary health

Public health impacts of the severe haze in Equatorial Asia in September-October 2015: demonstration of a new framework for informing fire management strategies to reduce downwind smoke exposure

In September–October 2015, El Niño and positive Indian Ocean Dipole conditions set the stage for massive fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), leading to persistently hazardous levels of smoke pollution across much of Equatorial Asia. Here we quantify the emission sources and health impacts of this haze episode and compare the sources and impacts to an event of similar magnitude occurring under similar meteorological conditions in September–October 2006. Using the adjoint of the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model, we first calculate the influence of potential fire emissions across the domain on smoke concentrations in three receptor areas downwind—Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore—during the 2006 event. This step maps the sensitivity of each receptor to fire emissions in each grid cell upwind. We then combine these sensitivities with 2006 and 2015 fire emission inventories from the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) to estimate the resulting population-weighted smoke exposure. This method, which assumes similar smoke transport pathways in 2006 and 2015, allows near real-time assessment of smoke pollution exposure, and therefore the consequent morbidity and premature mortality, due to severe haze. Our approach also provides rapid assessment of the relative contribution of fire emissions generated in a specific province to smoke-related health impacts in the receptor areas. We estimate that haze in 2015 resulted in 100 300 excess deaths across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, more than double those of the 2006 event, with much of the increase due to fires in Indonesia's South Sumatra Province. The model framework we introduce in this study can rapidly identify those areas where land use management to reduce and/or avoid fires would yield the greatest benefit to human health, both nationally and regionally

Improving Decision-Making for Population Health in Nonhealth Sectors in Urban Environments: the Example of the Transportation Sector in Three Megacities—the 3-D Commission.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) represent a significant global public health burden. As more countries experience both epidemiologic transition and increasing urbanization, it is clear that we need approaches to mitigate the growing burden of NCDs. Large and growing urban environments play an important role in shaping risk factors that influence NCDs, pointing to the ineluctable need to engage sectors beyond the health sector in these settings if we are to improve health. By way of one example, the transportation sector plays a critical role in building and sustaining health outcomes in urban environments in general and in megacities in particular. We conducted a qualitative comparative case study design. We compared Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) policies in 3 megacities-Lagos (Africa), Bogotá (South America), and Beijing (Asia). We examined the extent to which data on the social determinants of health, equity considerations, and multisectoral approaches were incorporated into local politics and the decision-making processes surrounding BRT. We found that all three megacities paid inadequate attention to health in their agenda-setting, despite having considerable healthy transportation policies in principle. BRT system policies have the opportunity to improve lifestyle choices for NCDs through a focus on safe, affordable, and effective forms of transportation. There are opportunities to improve decision-making for health by involving more available data for health, building on existing infrastructures, building stronger political leadership and commitments, and establishing formal frameworks to improve multisectoral collaborations within megacities. Future research will benefit from addressing the political and bureaucratic processes of using health data when designing public transportation services, the political and social obstacles involved, and the cross-national lessons that can be learned from other megacities

Integrating Social Determinants in Decision-Making Processes for Health: Insights from Conceptual Frameworks—the 3-D Commission.

The inclusion of social determinants of health offers a more comprehensive lens to fully appreciate and effectively address health. However, decision-makers across sectors still struggle to appropriately recognise and act upon these determinants, as illustrated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, improving the health of populations remains challenging. This paper seeks to draw insights from the literature to better understand decision-making processes affecting health and the potential to integrate data on social determinants. We summarised commonly cited conceptual approaches across all stages of the policy process, from agenda-setting to evaluation. Nine conceptual approaches were identified, including two frameworks, two models and five theories. From across the selected literature, it became clear that the context, the actors and the type of the health issue are critical variables in decision-making for health, a process that by nature is a dynamic and adaptable one. The majority of these conceptual approaches implicitly suggest a possible role for data on social determinants of health in decision-making. We suggest two main avenues to make the link more explicit: the use of data in giving health problems the appropriate visibility and credibility they require and the use of social determinants of health as a broader framing to more effectively attract the attention of a diverse group of decision-makers with the power to allocate resources. Social determinants of health present opportunities for decision-making, which can target modifiable factors influencing health-i.e. interventions to improve or reduce risks to population health. Future work is needed to build on this review and propose an improved, people-centred and evidence-informed decision-making tool that strongly and explicitly integrates data on social determinants of health

Transdisciplinary Research Priorities for Human and Planetary Health in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Ebi KL, Harris F, Sioen GB, et al. Transdisciplinary Research Priorities for Human and Planetary Health in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2020;17(23): 8890.Human health and wellbeing and the health of the biosphere are inextricably linked. The state of Earth's life-support systems, including freshwater, oceans, land, biodiversity, atmosphere, and climate, affect human health. At the same time, human activities are adversely affecting natural systems. This review paper is the outcome of an interdisciplinary workshop under the auspices of the Future Earth Health Knowledge Action Network (Health KAN). It outlines a research agenda to address cross-cutting knowledge gaps to further understanding and management of the health risks of these global environmental changes through an expert consultation and review process. The research agenda has four main themes: (1) risk identification and management (including related to water, hygiene, sanitation, and waste management); food production and consumption; oceans; and extreme weather events and climate change. (2) Strengthening climate-resilient health systems; (3) Monitoring, surveillance, and evaluation; and (4) risk communication. Research approaches need to be transdisciplinary, multi-scalar, inclusive, equitable, and broadly communicated. Promoting resilient and sustainable development are critical for achieving human and planetary health