Natural, geographical barriers have historically limited the spread of communicable diseases. This is no longer the case in today's interconnected world, paired with its unprecedented environmental and climate change, emphasising the intersection of evolutionary biology, epidemiology and geography (i.e. biogeography). A total of 14 articles of the special issue entitled "Geography and health: role of human translocation and access to care" document enhanced disease transmission of diseases, such as malaria, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, COVID-19 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona 2) and Oropouche fever in spite of spatiotemporal surveillance. High-resolution satellite images can be used to understand spatial distributions of transmission risks and disease spread and to highlight the major avenue increasing the incidence and geographic range of zoonoses represented by spill-over transmission of coronaviruses from bats to pigs or civets. Climate change and globalization have increased the spread and establishment of invasive mosquitoes in non-tropical areas leading to emerging outbreaks of infections warranting improved physical, chemical and biological vector control strategies. The translocation of pathogens and their vectors is closely connected with human mobility, migration and the global transport of goods. Other contributing factors are deforestation with urbanization encroaching into wildlife zones. The destruction of natural ecosystems, coupled with low income and socioeconomic status, increase transmission probability of neglected tropical and zoonotic diseases. The articles in this special issue document emerging or re-emerging diseases and surveillance of fever symptoms. Health equity is intricately connected to accessibility to health care and the targeting of healthcare resources, necessitating a spatial approach. Public health comprises successful disease management integrating spatial surveillance systems, including access to sanitation facilities. Antimicrobial resistance caused, e.g. by increased use of antibiotics in health, agriculture and aquaculture, or acquisition of resistance genes, can be spread by horizontal gene transfer. This editorial reviews the key findings of this 14-article special issue, identifies important gaps relevant to our interconnected world and makes a number of specific recommendations to mitigate the transmission risks of infectious diseases in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.

Background Mosquito research in Europe has a long history, primarily focused on malaria vectors. In recent years, invasive mosquito species like the Asian tiger mosquito ( Aedes albopictus ) and the spread of arboviruses like dengue virus, chikungunya virus or bluetongue virus have led to an intensification of research and monitoring in Europe. The risk of further dissemination of exotic species and mosquito-borne pathogens is expected to increase with ongoing globalization, human mobility, transport geography, and climate warming. Researchers have conducted various studies to understand the ecology, biology, and effective control strategies of mosquitoes and associated pathogens. Main body Three invasive mosquito species are established in Europe: Asian tiger mosquito ( Aedes albopictus ), Japanese bush mosquito ( Ae. japonicus ), and Korean bush mosquito ( Aedes koreicus ). Ae. albopictus is the most invasive species and has been established in Europe since 1990. Over the past two decades, there has been an increasing number of outbreaks of infections by mosquito-borne viruses in particular chikungunya virus, dengue virus or Zika virus in Europe primary driven by Ae. albopictus . At the same time, climate change with rising temperatures results in increasing threat of invasive mosquito-borne viruses, in particular Usutu virus and West Nile virus transmitted by native Culex mosquito species. Effective mosquito control programs require a high level of community participation, going along with comprehensive information campaigns, to ensure source reduction and successful control. Control strategies for container breeding mosquitoes like Ae. albopictus or Culex species involve community participation, door-to-door control activities in private areas. Further measures can involve integration of sterile insect techniques, applying indigenous copepods, Wolbachia sp. bacteria, or genetically modified mosquitoes, which is very unlike to be practiced as standard method in the near future. Conclusions Climate change and globalization resulting in the increased establishment of invasive mosquitoes in particular of the Asian tiger mosquito Ae. albopictus in Europe within the last 30 years and increasing outbreaks of infections by mosquito-borne viruses warrants intensification of research and monitoring. Further, effective future mosquito control programs require increase in intense community and private participation, applying physical, chemical, biological, and genetical control activities.

Abstract Background Primary health care settings and hospitals of low- and middle-income countries have few accessible diagnostic tools and limited laboratory and human resources capacity to identify multiple pathogens with high accuracy. In addition, there is a paucity of information on fever and its underlying aetiology in the adolescent and adult population in East Africa. The purpose of this study was to estimate the pooled prevalence of fever of unidentified aetiology among adolescent and adult febrile patients seeking health care in East Africa. Methods We pursued a systematic review using readily available electronic databases (i.e. PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature, Scopus, Cochrane Library and Web of Science) without language restriction from inception date of the respective databases to October 31, 2022. We adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Identified studies were screened for relevance. Further analyses based on pre-set eligibility criteria were carried out for final inclusion. Two reviewers independently screened and extracted data. Risk of study bias was assessed. Meta-analysis of the prevalence of fever of unidentified aetiology was performed. Results We identified 14,029 articles of which 25 were eligible for inclusion, reporting data from 8538 participants. The pooled prevalence of febrile cases with unidentified aetiology was 64% [95% confidence interval (CI): 51–77%, I 2 = 99.6%] among febrile adolescents and adults in East Africa. For the proportion of patients with identified aetiology, the studies documented bacterial pathogens (human bloodstream infections), bacterial zoonotic pathogens and arboviruses as the main non-malarial causative agents in East Africa. Conclusions Our study provides evidence that almost two-thirds of adolescent and adult febrile patients attending health care facilities in East Africa might receive inappropriate treatments due to unidentified potential life-threatening fever aetiology. Hence, we call for a comprehensive fever syndromic surveillance to broaden a consequential differential diagnosis of syndromic fever and to considerably improve the course of patients’ disease and treatment outcomes.

The inaugural issue of Acta Tropica has been published in 1944, at a time of utmost international isolation and uncertainty due to World War II. Now, more than seven decades later, Acta Tropica is a trusted outlet to communicate and disseminate scientific advances in the fields of parasitology and tropical medicine. As a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, Acta Tropica contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, that is "Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all of all ages". This article explores how Acta Tropica has evolved over time. Our analysis is based on a systematic review of keywords derived from all issues published in a specific year, arbitrarily selected at decadal snapshots (1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020). Results indicate a decrease in interdisciplinarity in favour of more specialised expertise in various fields of infectious diseases research and public health with a particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. Yet, by examining first and last authors' institutional affiliations and classifying countries by the Human Development Index (HDI), we find that most authors are affiliated with institutions in high- and very high-HDI countries. Over time, the mean number of authors on a paper has increased severalfold (from 1.35 in 1950 to 7.51 in 2020). Taken together, Acta Tropica has become increasingly globally anchored and contributes not only to SDG 3, but increasingly also to SDG 17, that is "Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development".

Acta Tropica is an international, peer-reviewed journal advancing scientific research in the fields of tropical medicine and parasitology. This article elucidates the rich history of the journal and speculates about its future. Acta Tropica was launched in 1944 and formed an integral part of the establishment and running of the Swiss Tropical Institute in Basel. After two distinct periods of relatively small publication activities (1944-1976 and 1977-1988), in 1989, Acta Tropica was transferred to the Dutch publisher Elsevier. Subsequently, the annual number of publications steadily increased and the scope of the journal broadened to the biology of pathogens and their vectors, to genetics, host-parasite relationships, mechanisms of pathogenicity, diagnostics, and treatment of tropical diseases. The body of published articles contributed to an improved understanding of the prevention, surveillance, control, and elimination of diseases that are intimately linked to poverty, such as malaria and neglected tropical diseases. In recent years, the scope of Acta Tropica was widening to target emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, epidemics and pandemics, interrelations of microbes, viruses, and parasites, co-dependencies of epidemiology, ecology, environment, and climate change. Importantly, non-communicable diseases are gaining interest in low- and middle-income countries due to urbanization, globalization, and rapidly changing life styles, and hence, these issues receive growing prominence. Acta Tropica continues to embrace inter- and, indeed, transdisciplinary research to address pressing global health issues and sustainable development.

• Asian neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are highlighted. • Over 100 million in ASEAN are affected by NTDs. • Over 50 updated reviews and original articles are summarized.

Taeniosis/cysticercosis and echinococcosis are neglected zoonotic helminth infections with high disease burden caused by tapeworms which circulate between definitive and intermediate host reflecting a predator-prey interaction. Taeniid eggs can remain vital for months, allowing arthropods to mechanically transport them to intermediate hosts. However, the multiple routes that arthropods provide as carriers of taeniid eggs are still often unregarded or not considered. This review focuses on the prevalence and importance of arthropods as carriers and spreaders of taeniid eggs in the epidemiology of taeniosis/cysticercosis and echinococcosis. Current scientific knowledge showed a relevant role of houseflies (Muscidae), blowflies (Calliphoridae), dung beetles (Scarabaeoidea), darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae), ground beetles (Carabidae) and skin beetles (Dermestidae) in the spread of taeniid eggs in the environment, which may favor the infection of new hosts through the direct ingestion of an insect or of contaminated food and water. At last, key research challenges are highlighted, illustrating that further knowledge on the topic is needed to develop and improve guidelines and actions to prevent taeniid infections worldwide.

This review summarises more than a century of research on onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, and its control. River blindness is an infection caused by the tissue filaria Onchocerca volvulus affecting the skin, subcutaneous tissue and eyes and leading to blindness in a minority of infected persons. The parasite is transmitted by its intermediate hosts Simulium spp. which breed in rivers. Featured are history and milestones in onchocerciasis research and control, state-of-the-art data on the parasite, its endobacteria Wolbachia, on the vectors, previous and current prevalence of the infection, its diagnostics, the interaction between the parasite and its host, immune responses and the pathology of onchocerciasis. Detailed information is documented on the time course of control programmes in the afflicted countries in Africa and the Americas, a long road from previous programmes to current successes in control of the transmission of this infectious disease. By development, adjustment and optimization of the control measures, transmission by the vector has been interrupted in foci of countries in the Americas, in Uganda, in Sudan and elsewhere, followed by onchocerciasis eliminations. The current state and future perspectives for control, elimination and eradication within the next 20?30 years are described and discussed. This review contributes to a deeper comprehension of this disease by a tissue-dwelling filaria and it will be helpful in efforts to control and eliminate other filarial infections.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Helminth infections, many of them listed as neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organization, remain a public health issue in many parts of the world. The People's Republic of China (P.R. China) stands out due to impressive progress in the control and local elimination of helminth infections. An important contextual factor is P.R. China's sustained social and economic development that allowed implementation of health-related poverty alleviation, improving water, sanitation and hygiene, enhancing information, education and communication, coupled with major engineering and infrastructure development and intersectoral collaboration. Nonetheless, food-borne trematodiases, soil-transmitted helminthiases, echinococcosis, cysticercosis/taeniasis and schistosomiasis still exert a considerable burden in P.R. China, even though the numbers of infected people have decreased substantially since the new millennium. This special issue of Acta Tropica provides a comprehensive update of the current knowledge of the main helminth infections in P.R. China, summarises progress in research and discusses future prospects for gaining and sustaining control towards the final goal of breaking transmission and hence, eliminating helminthiases. It consists of 34 articles with a wide coverage that can be grouped into six domains: (i) epidemiological assessment and disease burden estimates; (ii) diagnostics and antigen characterisation; (iii) drug and vaccine development; (iv) host-parasite interactions and snail genetics; (v) surveillance and public health response; and (vi) capacity building and international cooperation. The control and elimination of helminthiases not only furthers the health and wellbeing of the Chinese people, but also provides innovative approaches, tools and strategies, which can be adopted and applied in other countries and regions of the world where helminthiases still prevail.

Excretory-secretory (ES) products of nematodes and other helminths are the first molecules to interact with cell surfaces and soluble proteins within the host. In the present study, ES products of the filarial nematode Onchocerca ochengi were investigated as a model for Onchocerca volvulus, the causative agent of river blindness. These products were collected from adult and larval stages in vitro over a period of 7 days, to compare their immunological recognition in cattle and human sera, infected with species of Onchocerca. From the 156 sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) ES products or extracts, protein bands showed different patterns between female and male products. A comparison of antibody recognition of the different ES products by sera from infected cattle and humans, when analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), revealed a relatively higher reactivity of the female somatic extract to human and cattle sera compared to ES products of both genders. Nevertheless, similar reactivity of the O. ochengi male and female ES products to human and cattle sera was noticed. As a result, the interaction of ES products with the surface of the host and immune system often led to host responses, including the generation of antibodies. The O. ochengi ES products are therefore good sources of potential immunogenic proteins. The identification of these ES products is in progress, with the aim of developing vaccine candidates against human onchocerciasis.

Elsevier's 2nd conference on “Impact of Environmental Changes on Infectious Diseases” (IECID), convened in May 2017 in Trieste, Italy, brought together some 120 researchers from more than 20 countries. They presented the latest findings and discussed the impact of current and predicted future environmental changes on infectious disease dynamics in humans, livestock and wildlife in different parts of the world. Particular emphasis was placed on food-, vector- and water-borne diseases within the general theme of infectious diseases of poverty and emerging and re-emerging diseases. The potential impact of mobility, travel, population growth, trade and globalization on infectious disease dynamics against the background of a changing climate, land use, air quality and urbanization on individual, population, ecosystem and planetary health were addressed. Speakers at the conference were encouraged to put forth their talks into stand-alone manuscripts, which resulted in a unique collection of 13 articles, now brought together into a thematic issue of Acta Tropica. In this umbrella piece, we synthesize key findings from the published articles and highlight potential actions that might be taken forward to prevent and mitigate the impact of environmental change on infectious diseases. The work presented is salient in the current era of the Sustainable Development Goals.