Journal of Vaccine Research, 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 34-44 http://medscipublisher.com/index.php/jvr 35 2 Overview of Vector-Borne Diseases 2.1 Main disease types Vector-borne diseases include conditions caused by a variety of pathogens, among which viral diseases and protozoan diseases pose the most serious threat. Viral diseases such as dengue fever, Zika virus, chikungunya fever, yellow fever and West Nile virus are mainly transmitted by mosquitoes. Over the past few decades, due to urbanization development, frequent global personnel exchanges, and the increase in mosquito populations, the number of patients with these diseases has been continuously rising, and their transmission range has also been expanding (Weaver et al., 2018; Hale, 2023). Protozoan diseases such as malaria and Leishmaniasis are also important causes of illness and death among a large number of people worldwide. In many tropical regions, malaria transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes remains one of the leading causes of death. Leishmaniasis, which is transmitted by sandflies, also poses a significant threat to people's health in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America (Fouque and Reeder, 2019; De Souza and Weaver, 2024; Chaturvedi and Sharma, 2025). These diseases share many similarities in terms of their transmission characteristics and impact on health, such as causing long-term illness, having a high mortality rate, and all of them pose numerous challenges in prevention and control. The continuous emergence and recurrence of viral and protozoan-borne diseases also indicate that we need to take comprehensive measures to do a good job in disease surveillance, diagnosis and intervention (Weaver et al., 2018; Socha et al., 2022; Chaturvedi and Sharma, 2025). 2.2 Communication carriers Mosquitoes, ticks and sandflies are the main "accomplices" in the spread of these diseases. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the main vectors for spreading viral diseases such as dengue fever, Zika virus, chikungunya fever and yellow fever. Because they can adapt to different environments and are influenced by human activities, they can now be seen all over the world (Kraemer et al., 2015; Naslund et al., 2021; Hale, 2023). Ticks are key vectors for the transmission of diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tick-borne encephalitis. Their distribution range is affected by ecological environment and climatic conditions (Rosenberg et al., 2018; Socha et al., 2022; Logiudice et al., 2025). Sandflies are the main carriers of leishmaniasis. They can transmit protozoan parasites to humans and animals and are very common in specific environments in tropical and subtropical regions (De Souza and Weaver, 2024; Chaturvedi and Sharma, 2025). The living habits of these disease-spreading insects, such as how they reproduce, what kind of blood they like to suck, and their ability to adapt to environmental changes, have a significant impact on the spread of vector-borne diseases (Naslund et al., 2021; Socha et al., 2022; De Souza and Weaver, 2024). 2.3 Global distribution and high-burden regions Most diseases spread by insects occur in tropical and subtropical regions, where the climate is very suitable for insects to live and reproduce. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and leishmaniasis spread widely, causing great trouble for local public health and a particularly large number of people fall ill (Kraemer et al., 2015; Fouque and Reeder, 2019). Due to climate change, larger cities and more global travel, these diseases and insects have begun to move to new places, even affecting some areas in Europe and North America. As a result, new epidemics have emerged and the way diseases spread has also changed (Naslund et al., 2021; De Souza and Weaver, 2024; Logiudice et al., 2025). Regions with a heavy disease burden often also face other challenges, such as poor medical and health conditions, insufficient vector control measures, and difficulty in obtaining vaccines and effective treatments. Coupled with the continuous adaptation of vectors and pathogens to the environment, all these indicate that we urgently need the joint efforts of all countries around the world to strengthen the surveillance, prevention and control of vector-borne diseases (Rosenberg et al., 2018; Fouque and Reeder, 2019; De Souza and Weaver, 2024; Logiudice et al., 2025).
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