What is a vector?

Wilson, Anthony James, Morgan, Eric René, Booth, Mark, Norman, Rachel, Perkins, Sarah Elizabeth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7457-2699, Hauffe, Heidi Christine, Mideo, Nicole, Antonovics, Janis, McCallum, Hamish and Fenton, Andy 2017. What is a vector? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B - Biological Sciences 372 (1719) , 20160085. 10.1098/rstb.2016.0085

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Abstract

Many important and rapidly emerging pathogens of humans, livestock and wildlife are ‘vector-borne’. However, the term ‘vector’ has been applied to diverse agents in a broad range of epidemiological systems. In this perspective, we briefly review some common definitions, identify the strengths and weaknesses of each and consider the functional differences between vectors and other hosts from a range of ecological, evolutionary and public health perspectives. We then consider how the use of designations can afford insights into our understanding of epidemiological and evolutionary processes that are not otherwise apparent. We conclude that from a medical and veterinary perspective, a combination of the ‘haematophagous arthropod’ and ‘mobility’ definitions is most useful because it offers important insights into contact structure and control and emphasizes the opportunities for pathogen shifts among taxonomically similar species with similar feeding modes and internal environments. From a population dynamics and evolutionary perspective, we suggest that a combination of the ‘micropredator’ and ‘sequential’ definition is most appropriate because it captures the key aspects of transmission biology and fitness consequences for the pathogen and vector itself. However, we explicitly recognize that the value of a definition always depends on the research question under study. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Opening the black box: re-examining the ecology and evolution of parasite transmission’.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Uncontrolled Keywords:	vector; transmission; arbovirus; disease ecology; host–pathogen interactions; public health
Publisher:	Royal Society
ISSN:	0962-8436
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	23 March 2017
Date of Acceptance:	15 September 2016
Last Modified:	02 May 2023 17:32
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/99336

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