Arbovirosis y operación ATALANTAriesgo para viajeros y medidas de prevención y control

Abstract

The term arbovirosis is used to define a group of diseases produced by virus transmitted by arthropod vectors. More than 500 arbovirus have been recognized most of them belonging to 5 families: Flaviviridae, Togaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Reoviridae y Rhabdoviridae. Although they are mainly zoonotic, at least 25 % of them affect humans, being responsible for diseases like yellow fever, dengue or Chikungunya fever. Since January 2009 a military contingent is deployed in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean integrated in the operation EU NAVFOR-ATALANTA against piracy and protecting the merchant traffic of the World Food Programme Somalia. Vector borne diseases, especially malaria and different arbovirosis (dengue, Chikungunya, Rift Valley fever, West Nile fever) are considered an important public health issue in the Area of Operations (mainly in rural or coastal areas). The vectors of these diseases are widely distributed throughout the region with high infestation rates and increasing every year. This is the reason for this paper with the objectives of: to determine the epidemiological characteristics of the main arbovirosis that might affect the Spanish forces deployed in Operation Atalanta: Rift Valley fever, O'nyong'nyong fever, West Nile fever, Congo hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, Sindbis virus disease, Chikungunya fever and dengue. It also aims to evaluate the main preventive measures against these diseases used by the deployed Spanish contingent: health education, environmental control and protection against mosquitoes.