Disaster Parasitology: A Novel Concept in Disaster Management

Abstract

Overtime parasitology has witnessed the sprouting of intra-disciplinary spurs aside its traditional branches; a situation that has advanced the rapid academic and professional development of the discipline. This article summons an intellectual beam on yet another intra-disciplinary spur birthed out of necessity to respond to emerging demands in global development issues. Owing to rising occurrences of natural disasters and current incessant spates of human-induced catastrophes, especially wars, all sublimating in a growing incidence of mass population displacement, new, multidisciplinary partnership is required to build capacity for appropriate response. Medical and health response constitute a major aspect of partnership in the broader concept of disaster management. Disaster parasitology, or crisis time parasitology, finds relevance in this context, where the need for pre-disaster surveillance, vector ecology assessment, transmission monitoring and evaluation, post-disaster risk assessment /evaluation, health impact assessment, laboratory diagnosis, health education, etc. is of essence. This discourse thus advocates the development and concentration of a new body of knowledge of parasitology that is applicable in disaster management.