EFSA/ECDC VECTORNET: A European network for sharing data on geographic distributions of arthropod vectors transmitting human and animal disease agents

VectorNet is a joint initiative of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which started in May 2014. The Project supports the collection of data on vectors and pathogens in vectors, related to both animal and human health.

ERGO's role in this project is primarily the modelling of existing data within the database to be used to aide the identification of areas of likely species distribution where there are currently no data collected.

ESA LymeApp: Feasibility study, a 'rapid update' interactive, spatially accurate Lyme Borreliosis identification and risk management system

LymeApp is a Lyme Borreliosis identification, mapping and risk management system that includes risk maps, advice and information, incorporated within a smartphone app and web portal, it also allows users to report locations of ticks and bites to the central database. This health information and management tool responds to the needs of health care professionals, outdoor workers, resident populations and tourists by providing stakeholders with a better understanding of the factors affecting tick distribution and yme Borreliosis risk, as well as providing information about appropriate action to take when bitten by a tick.

ERGO's role in this project is advisory adding its experience of ESA's working practices and standards and successfully delivering mapping applications within the ESA project framework. With a further remit to advise, support and back stop the Lyme modelling team.

Information bTB (ibTB) is a free to access interactive mapping tool

The tool allows farmers, vets and the general public to access information on local bTB incidents (“breakdowns”) in their area and beyond

VMerge: Emerging viral vector-borne diseases

ERGO and Avia-GIS work together under the banner of Euro-AEGIS to provide Data Management support for the VMERGE project. This large collaborative EU funded FP7 research project of 16 international partners intends to establish a continuum between field and experimental research, and vector/VBD surveillance. This will lead to the identification of emerging risks of Vector-Borne Disease for Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, implementation of improved surveillance strategies in this region, as well as in the Sahelian region of Africa.

ERGO provided a number of key services within this project which include:

• Maintaining a spatial data portal and expanding the substantial spatial database which is processed to meet the projects data standards.
• Modelling key disease hosts at the continental level for the use of the project partners.
• Project Management within the Steering Committee.

EDENext: Biology and control of vector-borne infections in Europe (EU FP7) and EDEN: Emerging Diseases in a changing European Environment (FP6)

ERGO and Avia-GIS work together under the banner of Euro-AEGIS to form the Data Management Team for both EDEN, funded by FP6, and its FP7 successor, EDENext. These are large collaborative research projects each with more than 40 Partners over 22 countries. These projects have contributed to a decade of leading research in the field of emerging vector-borne diseases and public health. View the book here...

ERGO provided a number of key services within this project which include:

• Maintaining a spatial data portal and acquiring a substantial spatial database which is processed to meet the projects data standards.
• Modelling key disease hosts and the generation of host maps for the use of the project partners.
• Project Management within the Steering Committee .

ECDC VIMAP: Mapping European Health Vulnerabilities To Climate Change Related To Communicable Disease

The general objective of VI-Map is: to assist ECDC and EU member states with developing a set of vulnerability indices both linking socio-economic and IPCC climate change projections (2030-2050), so as to map future European vulnerabilities at a sub-national scale to a set of selected food, water and vector-borne diseases.

ERGO's role in this project is primarily the Identification, compilation and pre-processing of spatial datasets for the use in developing vulnerability indices of a number of example diseases including Salmonella, Lyme borreliosis, Hanta virus and Cryptosporidium.

FAO IGAD Livestock Information Portal

The IGAD Livestock Information Portal is designed as a web-based gateway or one-stop shop information management system to provide IGAD Member States and stakeholders in the livestock industry with comprehensive information to strengthen evidence policy making for the sector. It is developed by the IGAD Livestock Policy Initiative (IGAD LPI).

ERGO's role in this project was to design and maintain the IGAD Livestock Information Portal. Source and provide a relevant spatial data archive to support the projects stake-holders. The Livestock Information Portal proved to be a successful resource during the project life cycle and has recently handed over to the IGAD secretariat in Djibouti to ensure its sustainability. ERGO continues to provide an archiving function for the web content..

ECDC VBORNET – European Network for Arthropod Vector Surveillance for Human Public Health

ERGO along with our partners at Avia-GIS have been involved project management and in the setting up and the collation of information about vector distrtibution and surveillance in Europe from this ECDC funded network.

DEFRA Animal Health and Veterenary Laborotories Agency (AHVLA)

ERGO has been involved for more than ten years in a substantial number of DEFRA funded projects related to Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) with our partners at the AHVLA Weybridge. These have focuesed on spatial distribution modelling of the disease to investigate the roles of animal movement and environemntal factors such as climate and land use, in disease spread. Current projects include

• Developing methodology for for identifying homeranges of different genotypes of the bTB pathogen M. bovis.
• An exploration of factors that influence the expansion of the area affected by endemic bTB
• Analysis of regional variation in the factors influencing disease establishment and spread.

ESA VECMAP - Demonstration Study on Provision of Services for Mosquito Habitat Mapping

ERGO is one of three partners contributing to the development of VECMAP, - a one-stop shop for vector mapping which integrates all aspects of vector distribution mapping, funded by the European Space Agency. VECMAP incorporates optimising sample strategies, developing smartphone applications for survey mapping, producing spatial distribution modelling software and the information system that integrates all activties into a seamless package. ERGO's focus is the spatial risk modelling software and production of the accompanying data archives used in the modelling process.

EU FP7. International Research Consortium on Dengue Risk Assessment, Management and Surveillance. IDAMS

One of IDAMS' main activities in the production of Dengue risk maps, led by Oxford University's MAP project. ERGO's role is the acquisition and assessement of current and projected climate data used in the production of these maps. We also provide a web-based archive for use by member of IDAMS and its sister FP7 projects in the '3D' consortium - Stop Dengue and Denfree

World Bank

ERGO is collaborating in producing a Knowledge Product for the Word Bank entitled Early Actions to Reduce Climate Sensitive Disease Risk

ECDC EPOC

A series of Proof Of Concept studies have undertaken for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in Stockholm related tospatial analysios and mapping of Leptospriosis, Salmonella, Tick Borne Encephalistis and Mosquito vectors, in collaboration with Avia-GIS, and ECDC's E3 network. ERGO iss responsible for the Tick and Mosquito related work - developing novel mapping methods and evaluating climatic indicators for use in an early warning system for TBE in Sweden.

FAO Livestock Related Data Sets Gridded Livestock of The World

ERGO has played a central role in the productions of a series livestock related data sets for FAO in Rome - most notably of Tsetse fly vectors and domesticated livetsock. ERGO developed the required methodlogy and produced the first global livestock distribution maps which have become a world standard in the form of FAO's gridded Livestock of the World datasets. along with coilleagiues at the ULB in Brussels, these methods have been encapsulated into a software utility (FARMS), now routinely used at FAO to maintain and update the datasets.

DFID/FAO mapping the benefits and Tsetse economics

ERGO has been instrumental in a series of projects that map the economics of the removal of the Tsetse fly from East and West Africa. This work combines envirnmental and livestock mapping with economic herd modelling to quantify benefits and costs of tsetse control or elimination using different methods.