European Network for Neglected Vectors and Vector-Borne Infections COST Action Guidelines: What Is This About and What Is This For?

COST is the networking mechanism to support European Cooperation in Science and Technology between member countries and beyond. The main objective of the COST TD1303 action (European Network for Neglected Vectors and Vector-Borne Infections, EurNegVec, http://eurnegvec.org) is to establish a powerful transboundary network of partner institutions across Europe that are involved in education and research related to arthropod-transmitted infectious diseases of man and animals. This network addresses the growing importance of vector-borne diseases at a time of global change, all integrated under the one health concept, and reflecting the complexity and demands of current high-end research. Currently the action includes 34 participating countries, with representatives from 58 institutions, assigned as experts in five working groups (WGs). In addition, there are 10 more international partner countries associated with the action such as United States, South Africa, Brazil, or Argentina.

Among the five WGs that constitute EurNegVec COST action, the WG2 (comprising 80 members from 26 countries), dedicated to “Barcoding, molecular diagnosis, and next-generation sequencing,” has taken the initiative to produce these extensive guidelines that are being published together in a special issue of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Disease. A total of 58 international experts have been involved in the writing of these guidelines.

Despite the recent advances and technological progress, the detection of vector-borne pathogens remains highly challenging and is frequently problematic for newcomers in the field, such as PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. Therefore, we have selected different pathogens for which detection remains highly challenging and for which expertise was available among the participants of the WG2. Short notes (∼2000 words) focusing on the different techniques allow direct detecting of vector-borne pathogens. Each publication includes a short fact sheet, different technical approaches for direct detection of vector-borne pathogens (this part will include the pros and cons of each technique), gaps of knowledge, and expert recommendations.

The guidelines are intended to support young researchers in the field of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. They do not aim at being exhaustive, but rather practical for field activities and laboratory or experimental work. The topics selected for these nine guidelines were based on the longstanding expertise of WG2 members. They do not intend to cover all the fields of interest and to fill all the gaps. Five guidelines are focusing on bacteria, two on sandfly-borne viruses, and two on protozoan parasites.

When possible, young scientists were in charge of collating the bibliographic knowledge and were coached by more experienced researchers for providing experience-based information that is rarely published because it looks like cooking recipes or because it is considered as know-how and is hardly divulged.

We have designed these minireviews as operational guidelines. We do hope that they will help young researchers (and less young) who are beginning in the field of vector-borne pathogens to use techniques that work without getting lost, using the tricks that are not given in conventional publications and avoiding those that do not work.