Environmental Drivers of Vector-Borne Diseases

The transmission of vector-borne diseases is sensitive to environmental conditions, including temperature, humidity, rainfall, and land use/habitat quality. Understanding these causal relationships is especially important as increasing anthropogenic changes drive shifts in vector-borne disease dynamics. In this chapter, we first briefly describe the biology of vectors and pathogens that underlies environmental influences on transmission of vector-borne diseases. Next, we review the impacts of each of the major environmental drivers (as previously mentioned), synthesizing and comparing mechanisms across different vector-borne disease systems. Then, we discuss key challenges and standard approaches to research in the discipline. Finally, we highlight areas where research is advancing in promising new directions and suggest areas where new approaches are needed.