Parasites in the changing world - Ten timely examples from the Nordic-Baltic region

Gunita Deksne; Rebecca K Davidson; Kurt Buchmann; Age Kärssin; Muza Kirjušina; Inese Gavarāne; Andrea L Miller; Guðný Rut Pálsdóttir; Lucy J Robertson; Torill Mørk; Antti Oksanen; Vaidas Palinauskas; Pikka Jokelainen

doi:10.1016/j.parepi.2020.e00150

Parasites in the changing world - Ten timely examples from the Nordic-Baltic region

Parasite Epidemiol Control. 2020 May 5:10:e00150. doi: 10.1016/j.parepi.2020.e00150. eCollection 2020 Aug.

Authors

Gunita Deksne^{1

2}, Rebecca K Davidson³, Kurt Buchmann⁴, Age Kärssin^{5

6}, Muza Kirjušina⁷, Inese Gavarāne⁷, Andrea L Miller⁸, Guðný Rut Pálsdóttir⁹, Lucy J Robertson¹⁰, Torill Mørk³, Antti Oksanen¹¹, Vaidas Palinauskas¹², Pikka Jokelainen¹³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Food safety, Animal health and Environment "BIOR", Lejupes Str. 3, Riga LV-1076, Latvia.
² Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Str. 1, Riga LV-1004, Latvia.
³ Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Stakkevollvegen 23b, 9010 Tromsø, Norway.
⁴ Laboratory of Aquatic Pathobiology, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Stigbøjlen 7, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
⁵ Veterinary and Food Laboratory, Kreutzwaldi 30, 51006 Tartu, Estonia.
⁶ Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 62, 51006 Tartu, Estonia.
⁷ Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Daugavpils University, Parādes Str. 1A, Daugavpils LV-5401, Latvia.
⁸ Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Department for Terrestrial Ecology, Postboks 5685 Sluppen, 7485 Trondheim, Norway.
⁹ Institute for Experimental Pathology at Keldur, University of Iceland, Keldnavegur 3, IS-112 Reykjavík, Iceland.
¹⁰ Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Section for Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology, Parasitology Lab, Adamstuen Campus, Ullevålsveien 72, 0454 Oslo, Norway.
¹¹ Finnish Food Authority (FINPAR), Elektroniikkatie 3, 90590 Oulu, Finland.
¹² Nature Research Centre, Akademijos g. 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania.
¹³ Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Bacteria, Parasites & Fungi, Infectious Disease Preparedness, Statens Serum Institut, Artillerivej 5, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark.

Abstract

The world is changing, and parasites adapt. The Nordic-Baltic region in northern Europe - including the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and the Baltic States Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - is facing new parasitological challenges due to changes in populations of parasites and their hosts and the spread of new parasites to the region due to climate change. Some changes can also be ascribed to increased awareness and detection. In this paper, we review and discuss a convenience selection of ten timely examples of recent observations that exemplify trends and challenges from different fields of parasitology, with particular focus on climate change and potential changes in epidemiology of pathogens in northern Europe. The examples illustrate how addressing parasitological challenges often requires both intersectoral and international collaboration, and how using both historical baseline data and modern methodologies are needed.

Keywords: Climate change; Epidemiology; Europe; Host; Parasite.