Vector-Borne Diseases

I became hooked on ID during my parasitology module in medical school.

The geographic range of ticks in the United States is expanding, which may place more people than ever at risk for tick-borne diseases. We asked Richard S. Ostfeld, PhD, for an explanation.

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, and although cases have steadily increased — and are estimated to be significantly undercounted — there is no vaccine to prevent it.

Although the number of reported Lyme disease cases in the United States in 2022 was nearly double the annual average from 2017 to 2019, the actual increase is not likely to have been that large, according to experts.

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.

More than 2 decades of data show that exposure to tropical storm or hurricane rainfall increases the risk of acquiring waterborne diseases, demonstrating the storms’ threat to public health, researchers reported in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The environmental and societal impacts of climate change are progressing more rapidly than previously expected, nearing limits to what society can feasibly adapt to, according to a recent report.