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The Socioecology of Disasters and Infectious Disease
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The Socioecology of Disasters and Infectious Disease

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability in Geographic Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 January 2022) | Viewed by 21309

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Michael J. Blum

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 569 Dabney Hall, University of Tennessee—Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Interests: socioecology of disasters; eco-epidemiology of rodent-borne pathogens; urban ecology; coastal sustainability; aquatic ecology; eco-evolutionary dynamics
Dr. Dawn Wesson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
Interests: eco-epidemiology of vector-borne pathogens; host-pathogen co-evolution; vector control; effects of vector-borne pathogen infection on human pregnancy outcomes
Dr. Amy Lesen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology and Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center, Dillard University, New Orleans, LA 70122, USA
Interests: coupled human social–environmental dynamics; coastal sustainability; community resilience; climate and environmental change; art and science; community engagement; science communication

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue comprises selected papers on the socioecology of disasters and infectious disease that collectively address concerns about increasing vulnerability from unfolding global trends in human demography and climate. The need for scholarship circumscribing the socioecology of disasters and infectious disease has never been greater. The occurrence, scale, and frequency of catastrophic disasters are expected to escalate over the coming decades, reflecting growing populations exposed to increasingly severe climate-driven weather and the like. Disasters can lead to wholesale societal and ecological transformation, including the emergence of conditions that favor the spread of infectious disease. Greater understanding of coupled socioecological dynamics can better ensure that response efforts intended to reduce public health threats do not instead defer or inflate risks by inadvertently increasing the likelihood of contact with pathogen vectors or reservoirs. The peer-reviewed papers selected for this Special Issue present innovative theory, case studies, comparative assessments, and tools that can help identify common thresholds of risk and provoke greater collective action. Formatted to favor rapid and widespread dissemination, the work presented in this Special Issue also offers valuable perspectives on sociocultural disparities in public health risks, with the aim of guiding the development of more equitable policies and practices intended to ensure human well-being after disasters.

Dr. Michael J. Blum
Dr. Dawn Wesson
Dr. Amy Lesen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • disaster
  • catastrophe
  • infectious disease
  • zoonoses
  • health disparities
  • socioecology
  • coupled human–environmental dynamics
  • climate change
  • environmental change
  • governance and sustainability
  • environmental justice

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 741 KiB  
Article
Syndromic Surveillance among Evacuees at a Houston “Megashelter” following Hurricane Harvey
by Lauren M. Leining, Kirstin Short, Timothy A. Erickson, Sarah M. Gunter, Shannon E. Ronca, Joann Schulte and Kristy O. Murray
Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6018; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14106018 - 16 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1785
Abstract
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, thousands of residents in the Houston area sought refuge at a convention center “megashelter”. Out of concern for the possibility of communicable diseases spreading rapidly in the crowded shelter, we conducted syndromic surveillance to monitor [...] Read more.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, thousands of residents in the Houston area sought refuge at a convention center “megashelter”. Out of concern for the possibility of communicable diseases spreading rapidly in the crowded shelter, we conducted syndromic surveillance to monitor the health of evacuees using a digital drop-in cot-survey. The cot-to-cot survey design rapidly assessed evacuees to determine if they were experiencing any symptoms of illness each night from 1–7 September 2017. While no outbreak of a specific infection was identified during the surveillance period, runny nose, congestion, cough, achy muscles and joints, anxiety, and depression were the most commonly reported symptoms. Out of the total shelter population, 38% of adults reported symptoms compared to 25% of children (≤18 years). The cot survey took a median of 5.2 min per interview, and the daily participation rate increased throughout the surveillance period starting at 89% and ending at 96% on the last day. The success of this public health response was due, in part, to the effectiveness of survey design and the dissemination of real-time data to the health departments. Digital cot surveys can improve emergency response sustainability, interoperability among emergency responders, and improve evacuee participation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Socioecology of Disasters and Infectious Disease)
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17 pages, 2062 KiB  
Article
Resident Perceptions of Mosquito Problems Are More Influenced by Landscape Factors than Mosquito Abundance
by Jeffrey A. Brown, Kelli L. Larson, Susannah B. Lerman, Alexandreana Cocroft and Sharon J. Hall
Sustainability 2021, 13(20), 11533; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132011533 - 19 Oct 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2848
Abstract
Mosquitoes and the pathogens they carry are increasingly common in urban areas throughout the globe. With urban landscapes, the need to manage mosquitoes is driven by the health risks and nuisance complaints associated with mosquitoes. Controlling the number of mosquitoes may reduce the [...] Read more.
Mosquitoes and the pathogens they carry are increasingly common in urban areas throughout the globe. With urban landscapes, the need to manage mosquitoes is driven by the health risks and nuisance complaints associated with mosquitoes. Controlling the number of mosquitoes may reduce the overall risk of disease transmission but may not reduce nuisance complaints. This study focuses on Maricopa County in Arizona, USA, to investigate the relationship between mosquito abundance and landscape-level and sociodemographic factors on resident perceptions of mosquitoes. We used boosted regression trees to compare how mosquito abundance, collected from Maricopa Vector Control, and landscape factors and social factors, assessed through the Phoenix Area Social Survey, influence survey respondents’ reporting of mosquitoes as a problem. Results show that the landscape and sociodemographic features play a prominent role in how individuals perceive mosquitoes as a problem; specifically, respondents’ perception of their local landscape as messy and the distance to landscape features such as wetlands have more substantial roles in shaping perceptions. This work can highlight how potential mosquito and non-mosquito-related communications and management efforts may improve residents’ satisfaction with mosquito control or other wildlife management efforts, which can help inform best practices for vector control agencies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Socioecology of Disasters and Infectious Disease)
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18 pages, 3086 KiB  
Article
Rodent Virus Diversity and Differentiation across Post-Katrina New Orleans
by Anna C. Peterson, Himanshu Sharma, Arvind Kumar, Bruno M. Ghersi, Scott J. Emrich, Kurt J. Vandegrift, Amit Kapoor and Michael J. Blum
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 8034; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13148034 - 19 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2510
Abstract
Concern about elevated disease risk following disasters has been growing with the progression of global trends in urbanization and climate, in part because shifts in socioecological conditions can promote greater human contact with pathogen reservoirs in cities. Remarkably little is known, however, about [...] Read more.
Concern about elevated disease risk following disasters has been growing with the progression of global trends in urbanization and climate, in part because shifts in socioecological conditions can promote greater human contact with pathogen reservoirs in cities. Remarkably little is known, however, about the diversity and distributions of pathogens carried by commensal reservoirs across disaster-affected urban landscapes. To address this deficit, we characterized the assemblage structure of viruses in the serum of three widespread commensal rodents (Rattus norvegicus, Rattus rattus, and Mus musculus) that were trapped in New Orleans (LA, USA) following Hurricane Katrina. We assessed virus diversity and differentiation according to host species identity, co-occurrence and abundance, as well as prevailing landscape features known to shape urban rodent assemblages. We detected ≥34 viruses in total, including several pathogens of concern, through metagenomic analysis of serum taken from ≥149 individuals of each host species. We found that virus richness as well as assemblage composition and spatial differentiation differed by host species. Notably, we detected associations with host species co-occurrence and abundance, and while we found that assemblage structure varied by study area, we did not detect strong associations with landscape features known to influence rodent hosts. Evidence that virus diversity and assemblage structure reflect host identity more so than other factors indicates that biotic benchmarks might serve as prognostic indicators of post-disaster pathogen exposure risk in cities worldwide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Socioecology of Disasters and Infectious Disease)
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10 pages, 241 KiB  
Article
Biodiversity Targets, SDGs and Health: A New Turn after the Coronavirus Pandemic?
by Claire Lajaunie and Serge Morand
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4353; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13084353 - 14 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2250
Abstract
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, we invite readers to a reflection over the aim and use of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the determination of the new biodiversity targets in relation to health issues. Starting with a brief overview of the initiatives to [...] Read more.
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, we invite readers to a reflection over the aim and use of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the determination of the new biodiversity targets in relation to health issues. Starting with a brief overview of the initiatives to consider health and the environment in the international arena before the adoption of SDGs, we show how the pandemic shed a new light on the need for research on the interlinkages of human and animal health and environmental changes. We examine underlying elements of the dialogue between science and policy, then we suggest considering SDGs as tool for the service of the environment, wellbeing and justice. We advocate for the translation of planetary health principles into action, together with the consideration of planetary boundaries, to redefine an adaptive environmental law for the sake of social justice and the health of the planet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Socioecology of Disasters and Infectious Disease)
11 pages, 263 KiB  
Article
COVID-19: Immediate Predictors of Individual Resilience
by Regardt J. Ferreira, Fred Buttell and Clare Cannon
Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6495; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12166495 - 12 Aug 2020
Cited by 59 | Viewed by 10888
Abstract
COVID-19 is a pandemic event not seen in a century. This research aims to determine important predictors of resilience towards the COVID 19/Coronavirus Pandemic. This study uses a cross-sectional design, with purposive snowball sampling, for primary survey data collected over 10 weeks starting [...] Read more.
COVID-19 is a pandemic event not seen in a century. This research aims to determine important predictors of resilience towards the COVID 19/Coronavirus Pandemic. This study uses a cross-sectional design, with purposive snowball sampling, for primary survey data collected over 10 weeks starting the first week in April 2020. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on demographics and behavioral factors. Resilience was assessed using the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and perceived stress was assessed using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. 374 adults participated in the survey. OLS regression was performed to determine key associations among demographic variables, resilience measures, and perceived stress brought on by COVID-19. Age and education were statistically significantly positively associated with resilience, while English as a second language was significantly negatively associated. Participants who reported needing help from family and neighbors, total number of days in lockdown, and higher perceived stress were all significantly negatively associated with resilience. This study adds to immediate predictors of individual resilience to the ongoing infectious disease catastrophe created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Socioecology of Disasters and Infectious Disease)
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