Biological risk factors in the Russian Arctic: A scoping literature review

The goal of the review is to study and summarize approaches to assessing, monitoring, predicting, and countering human health risks associated with the spread of virulent pathogens, parasites, and other biological hazards in the Russian Arctic regions.

A literature search was conducted from May to August 2024 using PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, and eLibrary.ru to identify studies on vector-borne pathogens, parasites, and other biological hazards in the Arctic. The review also considered phenomena of bioaccumulation of chemical contaminants in biological food chains that can cause increased susceptibility of humans to infections and the impact of climate change on biological risks in the Arctic. Of the 348 identified publications, 55 articles were selected that met the inclusion criteria.

The analysis revealed significant gaps in the literature on biological risk assessment related to primary data on Arctic zoonotic diseases, with the most limited information related to the sources and pathways of their spread by wild game species. Based on hazard identification, it was established that risk factors for the spread of zoonotic diseases include unfavorable living conditions (inferior quality of life), higher population density, low-quality environment, and socioeconomic considerations. Migratory birds, fish, and animals can significantly contribute to the global spread and pandemics of infectious diseases. Improving our knowledge of wild bird and fish migration routes and vector-borne infectious diseases can help predict future out-breaks and epidemics. The analysis proposed a predictive model for assessing biological risk events associated with this migration.