Risk of invasion and disease transmission by the Australasian freshwater snail Orientogalba viridis (Lymnaeidae): a field and experimental study.

Background: Biological invasions pose risks to the normal functioning of ecosystems by altering the structure and composition of several communities. Molluscs stand out as an extensively studied group given their long history of introduction by either natural or anthropogenic dispersal events. An alien population of the lymnaeid species Orientogalba viridis was first sighted in 2009 in southern Spain.

Fasciolosis in the Mediterranean island of Corsica (France): Insights from epidemiological and malacological investigations.

Fasciolosis is a re-emergent parasitic disease of worldwide significance with a major global impact on livestock health and production. In the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, fasciolosis has been recognized for a long time but little is known about its dynamic as the main investigations are outdated. Three compartments - definitive domestic hosts, intermediate hosts and environment - involved in fasciolosis transmission were studied by applying an integrative and extensive approach: (1) farm and abattoir surveys, (2) snail sampling, identification and infection prospection, and (3) snail habitat analysis; and (4) a questionnaire-based survey to inquire about husbandry practices and environmental risks.

On the arrival of fasciolosis in the Americas.

Fasciola hepatica is a worldwide emerging and re-emerging parasite heavily affecting several regions in South America. Some lymnaeid snail species of American origin are among the major hosts of F. hepatica worldwide.

Getting out of crises: Environmental, social-ecological and evolutionary research is needed to avoid future risks of pandemics.

The implementation of One Health/EcoHealth/Planetary Health approaches has been identified as key (i) to address the strong interconnections between risk for pandemics, climate change and biodiversity loss and (ii) to develop and implement solutions to these interlinked crises. As a response to the multiple calls from scientists on that subject, we have here proposed seven long-term research questions regarding COVID-19 and emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) that are based on effective integration of environmental, ecological, evolutionary, and social sciences to better anticipate and mitigate EIDs. Research needs cover the social ecology of infectious disease agents, their evolution, the determinants of susceptibility of humans and animals to infections, and the human and ecological factors accelerating infectious disease emergence.