Sylvatic Mosquito Diversity in Kenya—Considering Enzootic Ecology of Arboviruses in an Era of Deforestation
As new and re-emerging vector-borne diseases are occurring across the world, East Africa represents an interesting location, being the origin of several arboviruses with a history of urbanization and global spread. Rapid expansion of urban populations and alteration of natural habitats creates the o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/6/342 |
| _version_ | 1797566301106864128 |
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| author | Gillian Eastwood Rosemary C. Sang Joel Lutomiah Philip Tunge Scott C. Weaver |
| author_facet | Gillian Eastwood Rosemary C. Sang Joel Lutomiah Philip Tunge Scott C. Weaver |
| author_sort | Gillian Eastwood |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As new and re-emerging vector-borne diseases are occurring across the world, East Africa represents an interesting location, being the origin of several arboviruses with a history of urbanization and global spread. Rapid expansion of urban populations and alteration of natural habitats creates the opportunity for arboviruses to host-switch from wild, sylvatic hosts or vectors into urban transmission affecting human populations. Although mosquito surveillance regularly takes place in urban areas of Kenya, for example identifying vectors of dengue virus or malaria viruses, little work has been carried out to determine the distribution and abundance of sylvatic vectors. Here, we describe the mosquito vector species and diversity collected at twelve forest habitats of rural Kenya. We conducted arbovirus screening of over 14,082 mosquitoes (47 species, 11 genera) as 1520 pools, and detected seven viruses (six bunyaviruses, and one flavivirus-bunyavirus co-infection) isolated from pools of <i>Aedes dentatus,</i> <i>Anopheles funestus</i>, <i>Culex annulioris,</i> and <i>Cx. vansomereni</i>. Awareness of sylvatic vector species and their location is a critical part of understanding the ecological foci and enzootic cycling of pathogens that may be of concern to public, animal or wildlife health. As natural ecosystems come under anthropogenic pressures, such knowledge can inform us of the One Health potential for spillover or spillback leading to outbreaks, and assist in vector control strategies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:24:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-78b636411da541febeaf2d38e5a15d74 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:24:48Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-78b636411da541febeaf2d38e5a15d742023-11-20T02:40:50ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502020-06-0111634210.3390/insects11060342Sylvatic Mosquito Diversity in Kenya—Considering Enzootic Ecology of Arboviruses in an Era of DeforestationGillian Eastwood0Rosemary C. Sang1Joel Lutomiah2Philip Tunge3Scott C. Weaver4Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, Center for Tropical Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USACentre for Viral Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Mbagathi Way, Nairobi, KenyaCentre for Viral Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Mbagathi Way, Nairobi, KenyaCentre for Viral Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Mbagathi Way, Nairobi, KenyaWorld Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses, Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, Center for Tropical Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USAAs new and re-emerging vector-borne diseases are occurring across the world, East Africa represents an interesting location, being the origin of several arboviruses with a history of urbanization and global spread. Rapid expansion of urban populations and alteration of natural habitats creates the opportunity for arboviruses to host-switch from wild, sylvatic hosts or vectors into urban transmission affecting human populations. Although mosquito surveillance regularly takes place in urban areas of Kenya, for example identifying vectors of dengue virus or malaria viruses, little work has been carried out to determine the distribution and abundance of sylvatic vectors. Here, we describe the mosquito vector species and diversity collected at twelve forest habitats of rural Kenya. We conducted arbovirus screening of over 14,082 mosquitoes (47 species, 11 genera) as 1520 pools, and detected seven viruses (six bunyaviruses, and one flavivirus-bunyavirus co-infection) isolated from pools of <i>Aedes dentatus,</i> <i>Anopheles funestus</i>, <i>Culex annulioris,</i> and <i>Cx. vansomereni</i>. Awareness of sylvatic vector species and their location is a critical part of understanding the ecological foci and enzootic cycling of pathogens that may be of concern to public, animal or wildlife health. As natural ecosystems come under anthropogenic pressures, such knowledge can inform us of the One Health potential for spillover or spillback leading to outbreaks, and assist in vector control strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/6/342mosquitodiseasevectorEast AfricaarbovirusSylvatic |
| spellingShingle | Gillian Eastwood Rosemary C. Sang Joel Lutomiah Philip Tunge Scott C. Weaver Sylvatic Mosquito Diversity in Kenya—Considering Enzootic Ecology of Arboviruses in an Era of Deforestation Insects mosquito disease vector East Africa arbovirus Sylvatic |
| title | Sylvatic Mosquito Diversity in Kenya—Considering Enzootic Ecology of Arboviruses in an Era of Deforestation |
| title_full | Sylvatic Mosquito Diversity in Kenya—Considering Enzootic Ecology of Arboviruses in an Era of Deforestation |
| title_fullStr | Sylvatic Mosquito Diversity in Kenya—Considering Enzootic Ecology of Arboviruses in an Era of Deforestation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sylvatic Mosquito Diversity in Kenya—Considering Enzootic Ecology of Arboviruses in an Era of Deforestation |
| title_short | Sylvatic Mosquito Diversity in Kenya—Considering Enzootic Ecology of Arboviruses in an Era of Deforestation |
| title_sort | sylvatic mosquito diversity in kenya considering enzootic ecology of arboviruses in an era of deforestation |
| topic | mosquito disease vector East Africa arbovirus Sylvatic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/6/342 |
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