HHS launches largest US effort ever to reduce vector-borne diseases
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Key takeaways:
- HHS published a national strategy to reduce the incidence of vector-borne infections in the United States.
- The plan was developed over 4 years by representatives from 17 federal agencies.
HHS released a national plan to reduce the incidence of vector-borne diseases in the United States, which has doubled over the last 20 years.
The National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in People was the result of a 4-year effort to combat vector-borne diseases (VBDs) as their geographic ranges expand because of climate change and the number of pathogens spread by biting insects such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and lice increases.
VBDs addressed by the plan include Lyme disease, Zika virus, West Nile virus, dengue, malaria, plague, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy that may be caused by a tick bite.
“This VBD national strategy represents the largest formal federal coordination effort focused on vector-borne disease prevention and control with contributions by over 50 representatives across 17 federal agencies,” HHS said in a press release.
The strategy has been in development since the Kay Hagan Tick Act was signed into law in 2019, authorizing a focus on VBDs. In September 2020, a framework plan was published by the federal government.
A consortium of officials from the CDC, FDA, NIH, Armed Forces Pest Management Board, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, National Park Service and the National Invasive Species Council, among others, spent 4 years expanding the framework into the full plan.
The overall goals of the plan include improving the understanding of how people are exposed to VBDs; developing and improving VBD diagnostic tools; developing drugs and vaccines for VBDs; and developing and improving public health tools and programs to prevent, detect, diagnose and respond to VBD outbreaks.
The top four public health goals spotlighted in the plan are the elimination of deaths from Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Arizona tribal communities by 2025, the elimination of sustained local spread of dengue by 2035, a reduction in West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease to fewer than 500 cases by 2035 and a reduction in the number of Lyme disease cases by 25% by 2035.
Tick-borne diseases — most notably Lyme disease, which accounts for eight out of 10 reported cases — make up roughly 90% of reported VBD cases, and experts have long called for more research and surveillance of them. From 2004 to 2019, the number of reported tick-borne cases in the U.S. doubled, and at least seven new tick-borne pathogens were discovered over that time frame.
“The rising public health threat of VBDs requires a comprehensive and sustained national effort to protect people,” the plan says. “This VBD national strategy represents the largest formal federal coordination effort focused on VBD prevention and control.”
References:
- CDC. Division of vector-borne diseases: VBD national strategy to protect people. https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dvbd/framework.html. Last reviewed Feb. 5, 2024. Accessed Feb. 8, 2024.
- HHS releases the national public health strategy to prevent and control vector-borne diseases in people. https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/02/06/hhs-releases-national-public-health-strategy-prevent-and-control-vector-borne-diseases-people.html. Published Feb. 6, 2024. Accessed Feb. 8, 2024.
- HHS. Vector-borne disease national strategy. https://www.hhs.gov/ash/osm/innovationx/vector-borne-disease-national-strategy/index.html. Last reviewed Feb. 5, 2024. Accessed Feb. 8, 2024.
Perspective
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VBDs are a global threat, with national security, economic and health implications for the U.S. However, solving this public health threat will not be easy and will require a sustained effort among an ever-growing group of collaborators.
This newly created national strategy — the largest formal federal coordination focused on VBD prevention and control — is an important milestone as it identifies and describes U.S. federal priorities to protect people from VBDs and provides the framework for concerted action to reverse their upward trends.
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