Pathogenic landscape of transboundary zoonotic diseases in the Mexico-U.S. border along the Rio Grande

Authors: ESTEVE-GASSENT, MARIA - Texas A&M University; Perez De Leon, Adalberto - Beto; ROMERO-SALAS, DORA - University Of Veracruzana; FERIA-ARROYO, TERESA - The University Of Texas-Pan American; PATINO, RAMIRO - The University Of Texas-Pan American; CASTRO-ARELLANO, IVAN - Texas State University; GORDILLO-PEREZ, GUADALUPE - Unidad De Investigacion En Enfermedades Infecciosas, Centro Medico Nacional Sxxi, Imss; AUCLAIR, ALLAN - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS); Goolsby, John; RODRIGUEZ-VIVAS, ROGER - Autonomous University Of Yucatan; ESTRADA-FRANCO, JOSE - Autonomous University Of The State Of Mexico

Submitted to: FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/19/2014
Publication Date: 11/17/2014
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/62123
Citation: Esteve-Gassent, M.D., Perez De Leon, A.A., Romero-Salas, D., Feria-Arroyo, T.P., Patino, R., Castro-Arellano, I., Gordillo-Perez, G., Auclair, A., Goolsby, J., Rodriguez-Vivas, R.I., Estrada-Franco, J.G. 2014. Pathogenic landscape of transboundary zoonotic diseases in the Mexico-U.S. border along the Rio Grande. Frontiers in Public Health. 2:177.

Interpretive Summary: Transboundary animal diseases (TAD) are transmissible maladies with the potential for rapid spread, irrespective of national borders, that can have socioeconomic and possibly public health consequences. Some microbes causing TAD are transmitted by insect and tick vectors, and can affect livestock and humans. The term zoonotic describes TAD transmitted from animals to humans. Global change is intensifying problems with TAD. The complexity of controlling TAD can be greater where international boundaries such as rivers bisect regions that are biologically similar. Pathogenic landscape is a term used to describe attributes of an ecosystem that influence spatial variations in disease risk or incidence. Understanding the pathogenic landscape of zoonotic TAD is important to mitigate their impact on livestock and human populations. The Rio Grande serves as a natural border between the US State of Texas and the Mexican States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Millions of people live in this transboundary region, and a substantial amount of goods and people pass through it everyday. The sector of the U.S.-Mexico border considered here encompasses a region that functions as a pathway for animal migrations, and thus links Central America/Mexico with the United States and Canada. This part of the U.S.-Mexico border is considered a hotspot for zoonotic diseases. However, the pathogenic landscape of zoonotic TAD in the south Texas-Mexico transboundary region remains to be fully understood. Here, we review ecosystem processes, land use, and human behaviors which influence Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Hantavirus disease, Lyme borreliosis, Leptospirosis, Bartonellosis, Chagas disease, human Babesiosis, and Leishmaniasis. The One Health approach, which defines the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment, was applied to the analysis. Surveillance systems following the One Health approach with a regional perspective will help identify and reduce the effect of zoonotic TAD on animal and human populations. It is proposed that the region comprising the Mexico-US border along the Rio Grande be viewed as a continuum landscape where zoonotic microbes circulate regardless of national borders.

Technical Abstract: Transboundary zoonotic diseases, several of which are vector borne, can maintain a dynamic focus and have pathogens circulating in geographic regions encircling multiple geopolitical boundaries. Global change is intensifying transboundary problems, including the spatial variation of the risk and incidence of zoonotic diseases. The complexity of these challenges can be greater in areas where rivers delineate international boundaries and encompass transitions between ecozones. The Rio Grande serves as a natural border between the US State of Texas and the Mexican States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Not only do millions of people live in this transboundary region, but also a substantial amount of goods and people pass through it everyday. Moreover, it occurs over a region that functions as a corridor for animal migrations, and thus links the Neotropic and Nearctic biogeographic zones, with the latter being a known foci of zoonotic diseases. However, the pathogenic landscape of important zoonotic diseases in the south Texas-Mexico transboundary region remains to be fully understood. An international perspective on the interplay between disease systems, ecosystem processes, land use, and human behaviors is applied here to analyze landscape and spatial features of Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Hantavirus disease, Lyme Borreliosis, Leptospirosis, Bartonellosis, Chagas disease, human Babesiosis, and Leishmaniasis. Surveillance systems following the One Health approach with a regional perspective will help identifying opportunities to mitigate the health burden of those diseases on human and animal populations. It is proposed that the Mexico-US border along the Rio Grande region be viewed as a continuum landscape where zoonotic pathogens circulate regardless of national borders.