Abstract

All components of a disease transmission system must be included in an effective surveillance program. These include, in the case of vector-borne zoonoses, the pathogen, reservoir hosts (domestic and wildlife), arthropod vectors, human infection and disease, and environmental and climate/weather factors associated with transmission. A successful surveillance system will include tools for collection of all these data, their storage, integration, analysis and output. Collaborative arrangements between various institutions and administrative units are often necessary. Examples will be presented from research on West Nile virus and Lyme disease in the Midwestern US, malaria in Trindidad and Chagas disease in Argentina, where epidemiological, entomological, demographic, and environmental data are considered and geographic information system (GIS) and spatial analysis applied.