Gorla David E
Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal, CONICET Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. E-mail:
Medicina (B Aires). 2021;81(3):432-437.
Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) continue to pose a challenge to the efforts of public health agencies by increasing their impact on the health of the affected communities. The common feature of VBDs is that the only way of preventing them is by avoiding the contact between vectors and humans. There are no vaccines, and they will not be available shortly as tools for prevention and control in Argentina. Although dengue outbreaks attracted the attention of mass media from 2009, other VBDs have been affecting public health in Argentina for many decades, as Chagas disease and leishmaniasis. Over these, and others that could potentially settle in the national territory (West Nile, Lyme, etc.), there are repeated mass media claims and political declarations justifying their increase because of climate changes. The argument asserts that the "tropicalization" of the climate in temperate regions promotes the installation of VBDs in areas previously unfavorable for them. Although much evidence exists showing that the climate is changing, there is very little evidence that the climate is the main factor promoting the increase of VBDs. In this article, the influence of the so-called climate change on the situation of disease vectors in Argentina (with emphasis on triatomines) and vector control activities implemented by governmental public health agencies are discussed.
媒介传播疾病（VBDs）对公共卫生机构的工作继续构成挑战，因为它们对受影响社区的健康影响日益增加。媒介传播疾病的共同特点是，预防它们的唯一方法是避免媒介与人类接触。目前没有疫苗，而且在阿根廷短期内也不会有作为预防和控制工具的疫苗。尽管自2009年以来登革热疫情引起了大众媒体的关注，但其他媒介传播疾病，如恰加斯病和利什曼病，已经在阿根廷影响公共卫生数十年了。对于这些疾病以及其他可能在该国境内扎根的疾病（西尼罗河病毒、莱姆病等），大众媒体不断有报道，政治人物也不断发表声明，称气候变化导致了它们的增加。这种观点认为，温带地区气候的“热带化”促使媒介传播疾病在以前对它们不利的地区扎根。尽管有很多证据表明气候正在变化，但几乎没有证据表明气候是促使媒介传播疾病增加的主要因素。本文讨论了所谓气候变化对阿根廷病媒状况（重点是锥蝽）的影响，以及政府公共卫生机构开展的病媒控制活动。
