Vector (biology)
any biological agent transporting pathogen organisms
A vector in biology is an animal on or in which a small living thing gets transported. The vector gets no benefit and sometimes loses fitness by the arrangement.
The term is most used for the transport of parasites and agents of infection or disease. So, deadly diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, are carried by some mosquitoes.
The study of vectors gives us knowledge about the life cycle of parasitic diseases, and this helps us control those diseases.
Examples
changeInsects
changeFlies
change- Mosquitoes
- Mosquitoes of the Anopheles genus transmit human malaria and elephantiasis (a roundworm disease).[1]
- Aedes mosquitoes are vectors of avian malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and chikungunya (a viral disease).[2]
- Sand flies transmit leishmaniasis, bartonellosis and pappataci fever.[3]
- Tsetse flies Several genera are vectors of human African trypanosomiasis also known as "African sleeping sickness".[4]
- Aphids are the vectors of many viral diseases in plants.[5]
- Triatomine bugs such as Rhodnius prolixus are vectors of Chagas disease.[6]
Other insects
change- Fleas such as the human flea, Pulex irritans and the Oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, transmit bubonic plague, murine typhus and tapeworms.[7] Rodents, such as rats and mice carry the fleas, and spread them.[8][9]
- Glassy-winged sharpshooter (a leafhopper) transmits the Xylella fastidiosa bacterium among plants, resulting in diseases of grapes, almonds, and many other cultivated plants.[10]
Other groups
change- Ticks of the genus Ixodes are vectors of Lyme disease and babesiosis.[11] and along with lice transmit various members of the bacterial genus Rickettsia.[12]
- Cyclopoid copepods: a number of species transmit the nematode Dracunculus medinensis.[13]
- Mammals
- Bats which represent about 20% of all known mammalian species act as both a natural reservoirs for viruses such as the Hendra virus (HeV) and the SARS like coronaviruses[14][15] and in many cases as a vector for various viruses such as the lyssaviruses including the rabies virus.[16][17]
- Felids (cats) are the primary hosts for Toxoplasma gondii a parasitic protozoan which causes Toxoplasmosis.[18] Approximately 30% of the human population is infected with Toxoplasmosis.[19]
References
change- ↑ "MicrobiologyBytes: Malaria". Archived from the original on 2010-03-10. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
- ↑ CDC: Aedes albopictus
- ↑ "Stages in the identification of phlebotomine sandflies as vectors of leishmaniases and other tropical diseases".[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Trypanosomiasis, human African (sleeping sickness)". www.who.int.
- ↑ "Metapathogen.com Is For Sale". www.metapathogen.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
- ↑ "Chagas disease". www.who.int.
- ↑ http://www.ttlntl.co.uk/3/Diseases/fleas.htm Archived 2012-08-25 at the Wayback Machine Taking the Lead: Fleas
- ↑ Kenneth L. Gage and Michael Y. Kosoy (2005). "NATURAL HISTORY OF PLAGUE: Perspectives from More than a Century of Research" (PDF). Annual Review of Entomology. 50: 505–528. doi:10.1146/annurev.ento.50.071803.130337. PMID 15471529.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ C. R. Eskey (November 1938). "Fleas as Vectors of Plague". American Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health. 28 (11): 1305–1310. doi:10.2105/AJPH.28.11.1305. PMC 1527927. PMID 18014942.
- ↑ "Almeida Lab". Almeida Lab.
- ↑ "Metapathogen.com Is For Sale". www.metapathogen.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
- ↑ "Rickettsial Diseases, including Typhus and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever". www.textbookofbacteriology.net.
- ↑ Yelifari, L.; Frempong, E.; Olsen, A. (1 June 1997). "The intermediate hosts of Dracunculus medinensis in northern region, Ghana". Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology. 91 (4): 403–409. doi:10.1080/00034989761021. PMID 9290847 – via PubMed.
- ↑ Halpin K, Young PL, Field HE, Mackenzie JS. Isolation of Hendra virus from pteropid bats: a natural reservoir of Hendra virus. Journal of General Virology. 2000 Aug;81(Pt 8):1927-32. PMID 10900029
- ↑ Li W, Shi Z, Yu M, Ren W, et al. Bats are natural reservoirs of SARS-like coronaviruses. Science. 2005 Oct 28;310(5748):676-9. Epub 2005 Sep 29. PMID 16195424
- ↑ McColl KA, Tordo N, Aguilar Setién AA. Bat lyssavirus infections. Rev Sci Tech. 2000 Apr;19(1):177-96. PMID 11189715
- ↑ Arellano-Sota C. Rev Infect Dis. 1988 Nov-Dec;10 Suppl 4:S707-9. Vampire bat-transmitted rabies in cattle. PMID 3206085
- ↑ Sherris Medical Microbiology (4th ed.). McGraw Hill. 2004. pp. 722–7. ISBN 0-8385-8529-9.
- ↑ Vivan AL, Caceres RA, Basso LA, et al.Structural studies of PNP from Toxoplasma gondii. Int J Bioinform Res Appl. 2009;5(2):154-62. PMID 19324601