One Health Surveillance and Vector Monitoring for cross-border pathogens

Within OH SURVector, 8 institutions from the 5 countries Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and Slovak Republic team up to setting and scaling up One Health Surveillance targeted to vectors and vector-borne diseases. The Consortium builds up on experts from the different sectors Public Health and Veterinary Public Health, environmental health and biology, epidemiology, from institutions with different roles within their country, including the competent authority, national agencies, National Reference Laboratories and academia. Within this Consortium we have decades of experience in the translating surveillance outcomes into policy and communicating health topics to different audiences. The overall aim is to protect the health of humans, animals and the environment by a) the early detection of changes related to vector and/or pathogen presence in Consortium Member States, b) the early epidemic detection and monitoring of ongoing outbreaks of vector-borne diseases, and last but not least c) strengthening the cross-sectoral collaboration on national and cross-border level towards an integrated One Health approach. The specific objectives of OH SURVector are as manifold as the specific needs, capacities, climatic conditions and specific national contexts of the Consortium Member States. In the focus of this project will be the two vector groups ticks and mosquitoes and following pathogens: Borrelia spp., tick-borne encephalitis virus, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus and West-Nil virus. Activities within OH SURVector include extensive field work to sample vectors, species determination and pathogen screening of vector samples, capacity building within labs and between Consortium Member States, preparing national data structures for efficient management and sharing of vector data, and turning health data into One Health by efficient communication and dissemination.