Disease ecology: interactions among environment, pathogens, and hosts

Abstract

Disease ecology is a fundamental interdisciplinary field for understanding how ecological and social processes shape the emergence, persistence, and spread of pathogens. This study, developed as a narrative literature review, analyzed recent publications in high-impact journals investigating the effects of biodiversity loss, land-use changes, climate change, and social vulnerability on the dynamics of infectious diseases. Findings demonstrate that reduced biological diversity can intensify disease transmission through the weakening of the dilution effect, while processes such as deforestation and urbanization foster closer contact between humans, vectors, and wildlife, increasing the risk of zoonoses. Climate change, in turn, alters the geographic distribution of vectors and expands environmental suitability for different pathogens. Furthermore, socially vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected in scenarios of epidemiological emergence. It is concluded that understanding disease ecology requires an integrative perspective, grounded in the One Health approach, which acknowledges the interdependence between human, animal, and environmental health.