Control of Vector Borne Diseases of Public Health Importance: The Role of Integrated Vector Management and Indigenous Knowledge

Abstract

This study reviews about the role of indigenous knowledge and integrated vector management for controlling vector borne diseases of public health importance with the aim of providing summarized information to the beneficiaries.  Now a day’s vector-borne diseases are the major illnesses of humans and animals. Many of vector-borne pathogens affect humans are of zoonotic origin. Reservoir hosts of these pathogens include wildlife, livestock, and companion animals. An important vector borne diseases with zoonotic potentials includes Leishmania, Dengue, Nipah virus, Rift Valley Fever, African Trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Onchocerciasis etc. These vector-borne diseases pose an increasingly wider threat to global public health, both in terms of the number of people affected and their geographical spread.  For many vector-borne diseases, there are no vaccines, and their drug resistance characteristic is an increasing threat for public health. To achieve progress and stability in animal and human health, vector borne diseases have to be controlled effectively. In olden days, people traditionally practiced various indigenous knowledge to control insect and other vectors transmit diseases between animals and humans. Indigenous knowledge expresses traditional knowledge, rural knowledge as well as ethno science. Studies indicate that veterinary medicine, as practiced today, has its roots in herbal medicine, which has been practiced since ancient times. As many vector control methods are effective against multiple diseases, they can be integrated together to combat multiple diseases at once. Finally we recommend an Integrated Vector Management as the process for developing and implementing strategies of WHO for controlling vectors besides using an indigenous knowledge.

Keywords: Indigenous Knowledge, Integrated Vector Management, Vector-borne diseases

DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-22-03

Publication date: November 30^th 2019