Title : Global trends in vector-borne diseases

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) represent a significant public health challenge worldwide, accounting for more than 17% of all infectious diseases. Driven by complex interactions among climate change, urbanization, population growth, and global mobility, VBD epidemiological patterns are rapidly evolving. This presentation explores recent global trends in the transmission dynamics, geographic distribution, and burden of key VBDs, including malaria, dengue, Chagas disease, yellow fever, Zika, chikungunya, Lyme disease, and West Nile virus. Emerging data indicate that warming temperatures and altered precipitation patterns are expanding the habitats of major vectors such as Aedes and Anopheles mosquitoes, leading to outbreaks in previously non-endemic regions. Concurrently, socio-economic disparities and weakened vector control infrastructure have exacerbated disease persistence in some countries. Advances in surveillance technologies, genomic sequencing, and predictive modeling are improving our capacity to detect and respond to outbreaks; however, challenges remain in integrating these tools into sustainable public health strategies. The presentation will highlight the role of interdisciplinary collaboration by combining entomology, climate science, epidemiology, and data analytics to help shape effective prevention and control measures. By synthesizing global evidence, this talk underscores the urgent need for adaptive, evidence-based interventions to mitigate the escalating threat of vector-borne diseases in a changing world.

Dr. Dawn M. Ford is an epidemiologist specializing in vector-borne disease, climate change impacts, and other areas of environmental epidemiology. She holds the PhD in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from Walden University and is Certified in Public Health. She has worked for local health departments and academic public health, and she is Past President of the Tennessee Public Health Association. She currently is faculty at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Walden University. She is also a business owner and founder of a non-profit organization.