| Autor: |
Guarido MM; Zoonotic Arbo- and Respiratory Virus Program, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa.; Department of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa., Fourie I; Zoonotic Arbo- and Respiratory Virus Program, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa., Meno K; Zoonotic Arbo- and Respiratory Virus Program, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa., Mendes A; Zoonotic Arbo- and Respiratory Virus Program, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa., Riddin MA; Zoonotic Arbo- and Respiratory Virus Program, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa.; UP Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control (UP ISMC), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0007, South Africa., MacIntyre C; Zoonotic Arbo- and Respiratory Virus Program, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa., Manyana S; Zoonotic Arbo- and Respiratory Virus Program, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa.; National Health Laboratory Service, Department of Virology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa., Johnson T; Zoonotic Arbo- and Respiratory Virus Program, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa.; Department of Biological Sciences, Copperbelt University, Kitwe 21692, Zambia., Schrama M; Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands., Gorsich EE; School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.; The Zeeman Institute for Systems Biology & Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK., Brooke BD; Centre for Emerging Zoonotic & Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases/NHLS, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa.; Wits Research Institute for Malaria, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa., Almeida APG; Zoonotic Arbo- and Respiratory Virus Program, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa.; Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMTNOVA), Medical Parasitology Unit/GHTM, NOVA University of Lisbon, 1349-008 Lisbon, Portugal., Venter M; Zoonotic Arbo- and Respiratory Virus Program, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa. |
| Abstrakt: |
The prevalence and distribution of African alphaviruses such as chikungunya have increased in recent years. Therefore, a better understanding of the local distribution of alphaviruses in vectors across the African continent is important. Here, entomological surveillance was performed from 2014 to 2018 at selected sites in north-eastern parts of South Africa where alphaviruses have been identified during outbreaks in humans and animals in the past. Mosquitoes were collected using a net, CDC-light, and BG-traps. An alphavirus genus-specific nested RT-PCR was used for screening, and positive pools were confirmed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. We collected 64,603 mosquitoes from 11 genera, of which 39,035 females were tested. Overall, 1462 mosquito pools were tested, of which 21 were positive for alphaviruses. Sindbis (61.9%, N = 13) and Middelburg (28.6%, N = 6) viruses were the most prevalent. Ndumu virus was detected in two pools (9.5%, N = 2). No chikungunya positive pools were identified. Arboviral activity was concentrated in peri-urban, rural, and conservation areas. A range of Culicidae species, including Culex univittatus , Cx. pipiens s.l., Aedes durbanensis , and the Ae. dentatus group, were identified as potential vectors. These findings confirm the active circulation and distribution of alphaviruses in regions where human or animal infections were identified in South Africa. |
