# Why the Jenner/Pasteur paradigm is insufficient for controlling vector-borne diseases and the role of microbiota-mediated interactions

## TL;DR

This paper explains why traditional vaccines are not enough to control vector-borne diseases and suggests new strategies that consider pathogen evolution and vector microbiomes.

## Contribution

The paper introduces the idea that vector-borne pathogens require vaccine strategies beyond the Jenner/Pasteur paradigm by considering ecological and evolutionary factors.

## Key findings

- Vaccination campaigns reveal how pathogens adapt under immune pressure.
- Vector-borne pathogens evade vaccines by adapting to vector microbiomes and immune systems.
- New vaccine strategies must address broader ecological dynamics of vector-borne diseases.

## Abstract

Vaccination campaigns have profoundly influenced the dynamics of infectious diseases, acting as one of the largest ecological experiments in history. By vaccinating billions across decades, we have imposed powerful selective pressures on pathogens, illuminating their ability to adapt, evade, or persist. Rooted in the Jenner/Pasteur paradigm – where exposure to an antigen induces protective immunity – vaccines have revealed how pathogens differ in their ecological susceptibility to immunity. Using this framework, pathogens can be categorized based on their strategies to endure, from those limited by direct immunity to those relying on antigenic variation, chronic infection, or reservoirs. Vector-borne pathogens (VBPs) present a set of challenges to vaccination efforts due to their complex life cycles, stage-specific antigen expression, and reliance on arthropod vectors for transmission. These pathogens not only evade host immunity but also adapt to selective pressures within the vector’s microbiome and immune system. Such complexity often places VBPs beyond the scope of traditional vaccine paradigms, requiring alternative strategies such as transmission-blocking and vector-targeted vaccines. This review explores these insights, examining the interplay between vaccination, pathogen ecology, and evolution – with special emphasis on VBPs – to guide future strategies in vector-borne disease (VBD) control.

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•Vaccination campaigns act as large-scale ecological experiments, revealing how pathogens adapt under immune pressure.•Vector-borne pathogens (VBPs) escaping vaccine-induced immunity expose the limits of the Jenner/Pasteur paradigm.•Antigenic variation, latency, and environmental persistence enable pathogen survival despite host immunity.•VBPs adapt to selective pressures within the vector's microbiome and immune system, complicating vaccine development.•Understanding VBP ecology and evolution highlights the need for vaccine strategies addressing broader ecological dynamics.

Vaccination campaigns act as large-scale ecological experiments, revealing how pathogens adapt under immune pressure.

Vector-borne pathogens (VBPs) escaping vaccine-induced immunity expose the limits of the Jenner/Pasteur paradigm.

Antigenic variation, latency, and environmental persistence enable pathogen survival despite host immunity.

VBPs adapt to selective pressures within the vector's microbiome and immune system, complicating vaccine development.

Understanding VBP ecology and evolution highlights the need for vaccine strategies addressing broader ecological dynamics.