bims-mosdis 2021-08-15 papers

bims-mosdis

Biomed News

on Mosquito distribution and disease

Issue of 2021–08–15
twenty-one papers selected by
Richard Halfpenny, Staffordshire University

Interplay Between Oxytetracycline and the Homozygote kdr (L1014F) Resistance Genotype on Fecundity in Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) Mosquitoes.
A wAlbB Wolbachia transinfection displays stable phenotypic effects across divergent Aedes aegypti mosquito backgrounds.
West Nile Virus and Other Domestic Nationally Notifiable Arboviral Diseases - United States, 2019.
Pandemic-associated mobility restrictions could cause increases in dengue virus transmission.
Checklist of the mosquito fauna (Diptera, Culicidae) of Cambodia.
Resistance-Breaking Insecticidal Activity of New Spatial Insecticides against Aedes aegypti.
Case-area targeted interventions (CATI) for reactive dengue control: Modelling effectiveness of vector control and prophylactic drugs in Singapore.
Genetic structure and connectivity among Aedes aegypti populations within Madurai city in Southern India.
Factors associated with the occurrence of dengue epidemics in Brazil: a systematic review.
A 1958 Isolate of Kedougou Virus (KEDV) from Ndumu, South Africa, Expands the Geographic and Temporal Range of KEDV in Africa.
Impact of IRS: Four-years of entomological surveillance of the Indian Visceral Leishmaniases elimination programme.
Transient transmission of Chikungunya virus in Singapore exemplifies successful mitigation of severe epidemics in a vulnerable population.
Diffusion of sylvatic yellow fever in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.
West Nile and Usutu Viruses' Surveillance in Birds of the Province of Ferrara, Italy, from 2015 to 2019.
Mixed Plasmodium Malariae Infections Were Underdetected in a Malaria Endemic Area in the Amazon Region, Brazil.
Spatial Distribution and Burden of Emerging Arboviruses in French Guiana.
Geometric morphometrics and machine learning as tools for the identification of sibling mosquito species of the Maculipennis complex (Anopheles).
Effectiveness of a single-dose mass dengue vaccination in Cebu, Philippines: A case-control study.
Previous Usutu Virus Exposure Partially Protects Magpies (Pica pica) against West Nile Virus Disease But Does Not Prevent Horizontal Transmission.
Integrated malaria prevention in rural communities in Uganda: a qualitative feasibility study for a randomised controlled trial.
The Unsustainability of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets.

J Insect Sci. 2021 Jul 01. pii: 13. [Epub ahead of print]21(4):

Interplay Between Oxytetracycline and the Homozygote kdr (L1014F) Resistance Genotype on Fecundity in Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) Mosquitoes.

Adandé A Medjigbodo, Eric G Sonounameto, Oswald Y Djihinto, Emmanuella Abbey, Esther B Salavi, Laurette Djossou, Athanase Badolo, Luc S Djogbénou.

  The insecticide resistance in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes has remained the major threat for vector control programs but the fitness effects conferred by these mechanisms are poorly understood. To fill this knowledge gap, the present study aimed at testing the hypothesis that antibiotic oxytetracycline could have an interaction with insecticide resistance genotypes and consequently inhibit the fecundity in An. gambiae. Four strains of An. gambiae: Kisumu (susceptible), KisKdr (kdr (L1014F) resistant), AcerKis (ace-1 (G119S) resistant) and AcerKdrKis (both kdr (L1014F) and ace-1 (G119S) resistant) were used in this study. The different strains were allowed to bloodfeed on a rabbit previously treated with antibiotic oxytetracycline at a concentration of 39·10-5 M. Three days later, ovarian follicles were dissected from individual mosquito ovaries into physiological saline solution (0.9% NaCl) under a stereomicroscope and the eggs were counted. Fecundity was substantially lower in oxytetracycline-exposed KisKdr females when compared to that of the untreated individuals and oxytetracycline-exposed Kisumu females. The exposed AcerKis females displayed an increased fecundity compared to their nontreated counterparts whereas they had reduced fecundity compared to that of oxytetracycline-exposed Kisumu females. There was no substantial difference between the fecundity in the treated and untreated AcerKdrKis females. The oxytetracycline-exposed AcerKdrKis mosquitoes had an increased fecundity compared to that of the exposed Kisumu females. Our data indicate an indirect effect of oxytetracycline in reducing fecundity of An. gambiae mosquitoes carrying kdrR (L1014F) genotype. These findings could be useful for designing new integrated approaches for malaria vector control in endemic countries.

Keywords:   Anopheles gambiae ; malaria; oxytetracycline; resistance genotype; vector control

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieab056
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2021 Aug 11. AEM0126421

A wAlbB Wolbachia transinfection displays stable phenotypic effects across divergent Aedes aegypti mosquito backgrounds.

Perran A Ross, Xinyue Gu, Katie L Robinson, Qiong Yang, Ellen Cottingham, Yifan Zhang, Heng Lin Yeap, Xuefen Xu, Nancy M Endersby-Harshman, Ary A Hoffmann.

Aedes mosquitoes harboring intracellular Wolbachia bacteria are being released in arbovirus and mosquito control programs. With releases taking place around the world, understanding the contribution of host variation to Wolbachia phenotype is crucial. We generated a Wolbachia transinfection (wAlbBQ) in Aedes aegypti and performed backcrossing to introduce the infection into Australian or Malaysian nuclear backgrounds. Whole Wolbachia genome sequencing shows that the wAlbBQ transinfection is near-identical to the reference wAlbB genome, suggesting few changes since the infection was first introduced to Ae. aegypti over 15 years ago. However, these sequences were distinct from other available wAlbB genome sequences, highlighting the potential diversity of wAlbB in natural Ae. albopictus populations. Phenotypic comparisons demonstrate effects of wAlbB infection on egg hatch and nuclear background on fecundity and body size, but no interactions between wAlbB infection and nuclear background for any trait. The wAlbB infection was stable at high temperatures and showed perfect maternal transmission and cytoplasmic incompatibility regardless of host background. Our results demonstrate the stability of wAlbB across host backgrounds and point to its long-term effectiveness for controlling arbovirus transmission and mosquito populations. Importance Wolbachia bacteria are being used to control the transmission of dengue and other arboviruses by mosquitoes. For Wolbachia release programs to be effective globally, Wolbachia infections must be stable across mosquito populations from different locations. In this study, we transferred Wolbachia (strain wAlbB) to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with an Australian genotype and introduced the infection to Malaysian mosquitoes through backcrossing. We found that the phenotypic effects of Wolbachia are stable across both mosquito backgrounds. We sequenced the genome of wAlbB and found very few genetic changes despite spending over 15 years in a novel mosquito host. Our results suggest that the effects of Wolbachia infections are likely to remain stable across time and host genotype.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01264-21
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021 Aug 13. 70(32): 1069-1074

West Nile Virus and Other Domestic Nationally Notifiable Arboviral Diseases - United States, 2019.

Grace M Vahey, Sarabeth Mathis, Stacey W Martin, Carolyn V Gould, J Erin Staples, Nicole P Lindsey.

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are transmitted to humans primarily through the bites of infected mosquitoes and ticks. West Nile virus (WNV) is the leading cause of domestically acquired arboviral disease in the United States (1). Other arboviruses, including La Crosse, Jamestown Canyon, Powassan, eastern equine encephalitis, and St. Louis encephalitis viruses, cause sporadic disease and occasional outbreaks. This report summarizes surveillance data for nationally notifiable domestic arboviruses reported to CDC for 2019. For 2019, 47 states and the District of Columbia (DC) reported 1,173 cases of domestic arboviral disease, including 971 (83%) WNV disease cases. Among the WNV disease cases, 633 (65%) were classified as neuroinvasive disease, for a national incidence of 0.19 cases per 100,000 population, 53% lower than the median annual incidence during 2009-2018. More Powassan and eastern equine encephalitis virus disease cases were reported in 2019 than in any previous year. Health care providers should consider arboviral infections in patients with aseptic meningitis or encephalitis, perform recommended diagnostic testing, and promptly report cases to public health authorities. Because arboviral diseases continue to cause serious illness, and annual incidence of individual viruses continues to vary with sporadic outbreaks, maintaining surveillance is important in directing prevention activities. Prevention depends on community and household efforts to reduce vector populations and personal protective measures to prevent mosquito and tick bites such as use of Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellent and wearing protective clothing.*,†.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7032a1
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Aug 09. 15(8): e0009603

Pandemic-associated mobility restrictions could cause increases in dengue virus transmission.

Sean M Cavany, Guido España, Gonzalo M Vazquez-Prokopec, Thomas W Scott, T Alex Perkins.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has induced unprecedented reductions in human mobility and social contacts throughout the world. Because dengue virus (DENV) transmission is strongly driven by human mobility, behavioral changes associated with the pandemic have been hypothesized to impact dengue incidence. By discouraging human contact, COVID-19 control measures have also disrupted dengue vector control interventions, the most effective of which require entry into homes. We sought to investigate how and why dengue incidence could differ under a lockdown scenario with a proportion of the population sheltered at home.
METHODOLOGY & PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used an agent-based model with a realistic treatment of human mobility and vector control. We found that a lockdown in which 70% of the population sheltered at home and which occurred in a season when a new serotype invaded could lead to a small average increase in cumulative DENV infections of up to 10%, depending on the time of year lockdown occurred. Lockdown had a more pronounced effect on the spatial distribution of DENV infections, with higher incidence under lockdown in regions with higher mosquito abundance. Transmission was also more focused in homes following lockdown. The proportion of people infected in their own home rose from 54% under normal conditions to 66% under lockdown, and the household secondary attack rate rose from 0.109 to 0.128, a 17% increase. When we considered that lockdown measures could disrupt regular, city-wide vector control campaigns, the increase in incidence was more pronounced than with lockdown alone, especially if lockdown occurred at the optimal time for vector control.
CONCLUSIONS & SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate that an unintended outcome of lockdown measures may be to adversely alter the epidemiology of dengue. This observation has important implications for an improved understanding of dengue epidemiology and effective application of dengue vector control. When coordinating public health responses during a syndemic, it is important to monitor multiple infections and understand that an intervention against one disease may exacerbate another.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009603
Parasite. 2021 ;28 60

Checklist of the mosquito fauna (Diptera, Culicidae) of Cambodia.

Pierre-Olivier Maquart, Didier Fontenille, Nil Rahola, Sony Yean, Sébastien Boyer.

  Between 2016 and 2020, the Medical and Veterinary Entomology unit of the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge collected over 230,000 mosquitoes. Based on this sampling effort, a checklist of 290 mosquito species in Cambodia is presented. This is the first attempt to list the Culicidae fauna of the country. We report 49 species for the first time in Cambodia. The 290 species belong to 20 genera: Aedeomyia (1 sp.), Aedes (55 spp.), Anopheles (53 spp.), Armigeres (26 spp.), Coquillettidia (3 spp.), Culex (57 spp.), Culiseta (1 sp.), Ficalbia (1 sp.), Heizmannia (10 spp.), Hodgesia (3 spp.), Lutzia (3 spp.), Malaya (2 spp.), Mansonia (5 spp.), Mimomyia (7 spp.), Orthopodomyia (3 spp.), Topomyia (4 spp.), Toxorhynchites (4 spp.), Tripteroides (6 spp.), Uranotaenia (27 spp.), and Verrallina (19 spp.). The Cambodian Culicidae fauna is discussed in its Southeast Asian context. Forty-three species are reported to be of medical importance, and are involved in the transmission of pathogens.

Keywords:  Asia; Biodiversity; Medical entomology; Mosquito; Taxonomy; Vectors

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1051/parasite/2021056
J Agric Food Chem. 2021 Aug 13.

Resistance-Breaking Insecticidal Activity of New Spatial Insecticides against Aedes aegypti.

Gary M Richoux, Liu Yang, Edmund Norris, Shiyao Jiang, Kenneth J Linthicum, Jeffrey R Bloomquist.

  The use of N-aryl amide derivatives as spatially acting insecticides remains relatively unexplored. To expand this knowledge, we synthesized eighty-nine N-aryl amide analogues and screened them for mortality against an insecticide-susceptible strain of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, Orlando (OR), using a vapor exposure glass tube assay. Of the screened compounds, twenty-two produced >92% mortality at 24 h and warranted further investigation to determine LC50 values. Fifteen of these analogues had LC50 values within 2 orders of magnitude of transfluthrin, and of significant interest, N-(2,6-dichloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropanamide (compound 70) was nearly as potent as transfluthrin and exhibited greater toxicity than metofluthrin when screened against OR A. aegypti. Compounds exhibiting potent toxicity against OR A. aegypti or whose structure-activity relationship potentially offered beneficial insights into structure optimization were screened against the insecticide-resistant, Puerto Rico (PR), strain of A. Aegypti, and it was discovered that not only did these N-arylamides typically show little resistance, some such as N-(2,6-dichloropyridin-4-yl)-2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluorobutanamide (compound 36) and 2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluoro-N-(3,4,5-trifluorophenyl)butanamide (compound 40) were actually more potent against the PR mosquitoes. Due to this promising insecticidal activity, five compounds were administered orally to mice to determine acute oral rodent toxicity. All five compounds were found to have mouse oral toxicity LD50 values well above the minimum safe level as set by the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (50 mg/kg). In addition to the promising biological activity documented here, we report the structure-activity relationship analysis used to guide the derivatization approach taken and to further inform future efforts in the development of N-arylamides as potential resistance-breaking, spatially acting insecticides.

Keywords:  Aedes aegypti; insecticidal; metofluthrin; resistance-breaking; spatial-acting; structure−activity relationship; transfluthrin

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.1c01200
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Aug;15(8): e0009562

Case-area targeted interventions (CATI) for reactive dengue control: Modelling effectiveness of vector control and prophylactic drugs in Singapore.

Oliver J Brady, Adam J Kucharski, Sebastian Funk, Yalda Jafari, Marnix Van Loock, Guillermo Herrera-Taracena, Joris Menten, W John Edmunds, Shuzhen Sim, Lee-Ching Ng, Stéphane Hué, Martin L Hibberd.

BACKGROUND: Targeting interventions to areas that have recently experienced cases of disease is one strategy to contain outbreaks of infectious disease. Such case-area targeted interventions (CATI) have become an increasingly popular approach for dengue control but there is little evidence to suggest how precisely targeted or how recent cases need to be, to mount an effective response. The growing interest in the development of prophylactic and therapeutic drugs for dengue has also given new relevance for CATI strategies to interrupt transmission or deliver early treatment.
METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we develop a patch-based mathematical model of spatial dengue spread and fit it to spatiotemporal datasets from Singapore. Simulations from this model suggest CATI strategies could be effective, particularly if used in lower density areas. To maximise effectiveness, increasing the size of the radius around an index case should be prioritised even if it results in delays in the intervention being applied. This is partially because large intervention radii ensure individuals receive multiple and regular rounds of drug dosing or vector control, and thus boost overall coverage. Given equivalent efficacy, CATIs using prophylactic drugs are predicted to be more effective than adult mosquito-killing vector control methods and may even offer the possibility of interrupting individual chains of transmission if rapidly deployed. CATI strategies quickly lose their effectiveness if baseline transmission increases or case detection rates fall.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest CATI strategies can play an important role in dengue control but are likely to be most relevant for low transmission areas where high coverage of other non-reactive interventions already exists. Controlled field trials are needed to assess the field efficacy and practical constraints of large operational CATI strategies.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009562
Infect Genet Evol. 2021 Aug 07. pii: S1567-1348(21)00329-4. [Epub ahead of print] 105031

Genetic structure and connectivity among Aedes aegypti populations within Madurai city in Southern India.

M Senthil Kumar, M Kalimuthu, A Selvam, A Mathivanan, R Paramasivan, Ashwani Kumar, Bhavna Gupta.

  We investigated the genetic variability and differentiation among 12 A. aegypti populations collected within the Madurai city in Tamil Nadu state of Southern India. Genotyping of 12 microsatellite markers in 353 individual samples showed moderate levels of genetic diversity among 12 populations. UPGMA tree, hierarchical clustering, Bayesian clustering and Discriminant Analysis on Principal Components roughly divided these populations into two genetic clusters: main city populations and the populations located at the border of the corporation limit. Significant positive correlation between genetic and geographic distance was observed among 12 populations, however, the correlation was non-significant within each genetic cluster. Population assignment and DivMigrate graph depicted less migration between two groups. Overall, the findings of this study provided an overview of Ae. aegypti population structure within an urban settings in India that have implications in effective implementation of vector control in the city area.

Keywords:  Aedes aegypti; Genetic structure; India; Madurai; Microsatellites

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2021.105031
Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2021 ;45 e84

Factors associated with the occurrence of dengue epidemics in Brazil: a systematic review.

Selma Costa de Sousa, Mariângela Carneiro, Álvaro Eduardo Eiras, Juliana Maria Trindade Bezerra, David Soeiro Barbosa.

   Objective: To identify and describe broadly the factors related to the occurrence of dengue epidemics in Brazil.
Methods: Systematic review of studies published in Medline, Lilacs, PubMed, Cochrane, BVS, Web of Science, Scopus, and thesis and dissertations databases using descriptors cataloged in DeCs and MeSH on dengue and factors associated with the occurrence of epidemics, published from 2008 to 2018.
Results: Thirty-five studies carried out in the country were selected. The epidemics recorded in Brazil were associated and/or correlated with multiple factors such as environment, socioeconomic conditions, climate, and aspects related to the vector, among others.
Conclusions: Dengue epidemics are complex and multifactorial. The continuity of the vector control actions was found to be relevant to the reduction of Aedes aegypti and for disease control. To contain the spread of the disease, effective measures are needed in all sectors, including health, education, economy, population, business, and government. Actions for the early detection of cases of the disease can prevent new outbreaks of epidemics.

Keywords:  Brazil; Dengue; epidemics; risk factors

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2021.84
Viruses. 2021 Jul 14. pii: 1368. [Epub ahead of print]13(7):

A 1958 Isolate of Kedougou Virus (KEDV) from Ndumu, South Africa, Expands the Geographic and Temporal Range of KEDV in Africa.

Petrus Jansen van Vuren, Rhys Parry, Alexander A Khromykh, Janusz T Paweska.

  The mosquito-borne flavivirus, Kedougou virus (KEDV), first isolated in Senegal in 1972, is genetically related to dengue, Zika (ZIKV) and Spondweni viruses (SPOV). Serological surveillance studies in Senegal and isolation of KEDV in the Central African Republic indicate occurrence of KEDV infections in humans, but to date, no disease has been reported. Here, we assembled the coding-complete genome of a 1958 isolate of KEDV from a pool of Aedes circumluteolus mosquitoes collected in Ndumu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The AR1071 Ndumu KEDV isolate bears 80.51% pairwise nucleotide identity and 93.34% amino acid identity with the prototype DakAar-D1470 strain and was co-isolated with SPOV through intracerebral inoculation of suckling mice and passage on VeroE6 cells. This historical isolate expands the known geographic and temporal range of this relatively unknown flavivirus, aiding future temporal phylogenetic calibration and diagnostic assay refinement.

Keywords:  Aedes; Aedes circumluteolus; Kedougou virus; arbovirus; flavivirus

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/v13071368
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Aug 09. 15(8): e0009101

Impact of IRS: Four-years of entomological surveillance of the Indian Visceral Leishmaniases elimination programme.

Rinki Deb, Rudra Pratap Singh, Prabhas Kumar Mishra, Lisa Hitchins, Emma Reid, Arti Manorama Barwa, Debanjan Patra, Chandrima Das, Indranil Sukla, Ashish Kumar Srivastava, Shilpa Raj, Swikruti Mishra, Madhuri Swain, Swapna Mondal, Udita Mandal, Geraldine M Foster, Anna Trett, Gala Garrod, Laura McKenzie, Asgar Ali, Karthick Morchan, Indrajit Chaudhuri, Nupur Roy, Naresh K Gill, Chandramani Singh, Neeraj Agarwal, Sadhana Sharma, Michelle C Stanton, Janet Hemingway, Sridhar Srikantiah, Michael Coleman.

BACKGROUND: In 2005, Bangladesh, India and Nepal agreed to eliminate visceral leishmaniasis (VL) as a public health problem. The approach to this was through improved case detection and treatment, and controlling transmission by the sand fly vector Phlebotomus argentipes, with indoor residual spraying (IRS) of insecticide. Initially, India applied DDT with stirrup pumps for IRS, however, this did not reduce transmission. After 2015 onwards, the pyrethroid alpha-cypermethrin was applied with compression pumps, and entomological surveillance was initiated in 2016.
METHODS: Eight sentinel sites were established in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. IRS coverage was monitored by household survey, quality of insecticide application was measured by HPLC, presence and abundance of the VL vector was monitored by CDC light traps, insecticide resistance was measured with WHO diagnostic assays and case incidence was determined from the VL case register KAMIS.
RESULTS: Complete treatment of houses with IRS increased across all sites from 57% in 2016 to 70% of houses in 2019, rising to >80% if partial house IRS coverage is included (except West Bengal). The quality of insecticide application has improved compared to previous studies, average doses of insecticide on filters papers ranged from 1.52 times the target dose of 25mg/m2 alpha-cypermethrin in 2019 to 1.67 times in 2018. Resistance to DDT has continued to increase, but the vector was not resistant to carbamates, organophosphates or pyrethroids. The annual and seasonal abundance of P. argentipes declined between 2016 to 2019 with an overall infection rate of 0.03%. This was associated with a decline in VL incidence for the blocks represented by the sentinel sites from 1.16 per 10,000 population in 2016 to 0.51 per 10,000 in 2019.
CONCLUSION: Through effective case detection and management reducing the infection reservoirs for P. argentipes in the human population combined with IRS keeping P. argentipes abundance and infectivity low has reduced VL transmission. This combination of effective case management and vector control has now brought India within reach of the VL elimination targets.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009101
Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Aug 08. pii: S1201-9712(21)00640-8. [Epub ahead of print]

Transient transmission of Chikungunya virus in Singapore exemplifies successful mitigation of severe epidemics in a vulnerable population.

Hapuarachchige Chanditha Hapuarachchi, Wing-Yan Wong, Carmen Koo, Wei-Ping Tien, Gladys Yeo, Jayanthi Rajarethinam, Eugene Tan, Suzanna Chiang, Chee-Seng Chong, Cheong-Huat Tan, Li-Kiang Tan, Lee-Ching Ng.

   OBJECTIVES: Singapore experienced two major outbreaks of chikungunya in 2008-09 and 2013-14. Despite repeated virus introductions, fresh local outbreaks have not emerged after 2014. The present study reviews the success of chikungunya control in Singapore, despite repeated introduction of virus strains, presence of competent vectors and an immunologically naïve population.
METHODS: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) sequences (421 envelope 1 genes and 56 polyproteins) were analysed to distinguish the indigenous virus groups from 2008 to 2020. Vector surveillance data was used to incriminate the vector/s associated with local outbreaks. The population exposure to CHIKV was determined by assessing the seroprevalence status in three cohorts of sera collected in 2009 (n=2,008), 2013 (n=2,000) and 2017 (n=3,615).
RESULTS: Four distinct groups of CHIKV of East, Central and South African genotype have mainly circulated since 2008, transmitted primarily by Aedes albopictus. The age weighted CHIKV IgG prevalence rates were low (1-5%) and showed a non-significant increase from 2009 to 2013, but a significant decrease in 2017. In contrast, the prevalence of CHIKV neutralising antibodies in the population increased significantly from 2009 to 2013, with no significant change in 2017, but the levels remained below 2%.
CONCLUSIONS: The evidence suggested that surveillance and vector control strategies implemented were robust to avert severe epidemics, despite repeated introduction of virus strains, presence of competent vectors and an immunologically naïve population.

Keywords:  Aedes; Chikungunya virus; control; genotyping; seroprevalence; surveillance

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2021.08.007
Sci Rep. 2021 Aug 11. 11(1): 16277

Diffusion of sylvatic yellow fever in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Alec Brian Lacerda, Leila Del Castillo Saad, Priscilla Venâncio Ikefuti, Adriano Pinter, Francisco Chiaravalloti-Neto.

We investigated the sylvatic yellow fever (SYF) diffusion process in São Paulo (SP) between 2016 and 2019. We developed an ecological study of SYF through autochthonous human cases and epizootics of non-human primates (NHPs) that were spatiotemporally evaluated. We used kriging to obtain maps with isochrones representative of the evolution of the outbreak and characterized its diffusion pattern. We confirmed 648 human cases of SYF in SP, with 230 deaths and 843 NHP epizootics. Two outbreak waves were identified: one from West to East (2016 and 2017), and another from the Campinas region to the municipalities bordering Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Paraná and those of the SP coast (2017-2019). The SYF outbreak diffusion process was by contagion. The disease did not exhibit jumps between municipalities, indicating that the mosquitoes and NHPs were responsible for transmitting the virus. There were not enough vaccines to meet the population at risk; hence, health authorities used information about the epizootic occurrence in NHPs in forest fragments to identify priority populations for vaccination.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95539-w
Viruses. 2021 Jul 14. pii: 1367. [Epub ahead of print]13(7):

West Nile and Usutu Viruses' Surveillance in Birds of the Province of Ferrara, Italy, from 2015 to 2019.

Alessandra Lauriano, Arianna Rossi, Giorgio Galletti, Gabriele Casadei, Annalisa Santi, Silva Rubini, Elena Carra, Davide Lelli, Mattia Calzolari, Marco Tamba.

  West Nile (WNV) and Usutu (USUV) viruses are mosquito-borne flaviviruses. Thanks to their importance as zoonotic diseases, a regional plan for surveillance of Arboviruses was implemented in Emilia-Romagna in 2009. The province of Ferrara belongs to the Emilia-Romagna region, and it is an endemic territory for these viruses, with favorable ecological conditions for abundance of mosquitoes and wild birds. From 2015 to 2019, we collected 1842 dead-found birds at a wildlife rehabilitation center, which were analysed by three different PCRs for the detection of WNV and USUV genomes. August was characterized by the highest infection rate for both viruses. Columbiformes scored the highest USUV prevalence (8%), while Galliformes and Strigiformes reported the highest prevalence for WNV (13%). Among Passeriformes (the most populated Order), Turdus merula was the most abundant species and scored the highest prevalence for both viruses. To optimize passive surveillance plans, monitoring should be focused on the summer and towards the avian species more prone to infection by both viruses.

Keywords:  Usutu virus; West Nile virus; passive surveillance; wild birds

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/v13071367
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021 Aug 09. pii: tpmd210296. [Epub ahead of print]

Mixed Plasmodium Malariae Infections Were Underdetected in a Malaria Endemic Area in the Amazon Region, Brazil.

Maristela G Cunha, Camille S Santos, Milene Raiol, Sheyla Patrícia T Costa, Ana Maria R Ventura, Marinete M Póvoa, Ândrea Ribeiro-Dos-Santos.

Plasmodium malariae infections are often asymptomatic and long-lasting. Mixed infections are often underdetected in areas where P. malariae, P. vivax, and P. falciparum are coendemic. In this study, we described the occurrence of these species circulating as single or mixed infections in Pará state, Brazil, in the Amazon region, with the purpose of clarifying the impact of misidentification of parasite species based only on morphological description using thick blood smear. By using real-time polymerase chain reaction based on the amplification of the mitochondrial DNA, we detected a prevalence of 46% (58/126) mixed infections with 33.3% P. malariae/P. vivax which were read as P. vivax monoinfections by microscopy detection. Our findings confirmed the high circulation of P. malariae in a malaria endemic area in the Brazilian Amazon region.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.21-0296
Viruses. 2021 Jul 02. pii: 1299. [Epub ahead of print]13(7):

Spatial Distribution and Burden of Emerging Arboviruses in French Guiana.

Sarah Bailly, Dominique Rousset, Camille Fritzell, Nathanaël Hozé, Sarrah Ben Achour, Léna Berthelot, Antoine Enfissi, Jessica Vanhomwegen, Henrik Salje, Sandrine Fernandes-Pellerin, Mona Saout, Anne Lavergne, Jean-Claude Manuguerra, Jean-François Carod, Félix Djossou, Simon Cauchemez, Claude Flamand.

  Despite the health, social and economic impact of arboviruses in French Guiana, very little is known about the extent to which infection burden is shared between individuals. We conducted a large multiplexed serological survey among 2697 individuals from June to October 2017. All serum samples were tested for IgG antibodies against DENV, CHIKV, ZIKV and MAYV using a recombinant antigen-based microsphere immunoassay with a subset further evaluated through anti-ZIKV microneutralization tests. The overall DENV seroprevalence was estimated at 73.1% (70.6-75.4) in the whole territory with estimations by serotype at 68.9% for DENV-1, 38.8% for DENV-2, 42.3% for DENV-3, and 56.1% for DENV-4. The overall seroprevalence of CHIKV, ZIKV and MAYV antibodies was 20.3% (17.7-23.1), 23.3% (20.9-25.9) and 3.3% (2.7-4.1), respectively. We provide a consistent overview of the burden of emerging arboviruses in French Guiana, with useful findings for risk mapping, future prevention and control programs. The majority of the population remains susceptible to CHIKV and ZIKV, which could potentially facilitate the risk of further re-emergences. Our results underscore the need to strengthen MAYV surveillance in order to rapidly detect any substantial changes in MAYV circulation patterns.

Keywords:  Chikungunya; Dengue; French Guiana; Mayaro; Zika; arboviruses; prevalence studies

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/v13071299
Infect Genet Evol. 2021 Aug 09. pii: S1567-1348(21)00332-4. [Epub ahead of print] 105034

Geometric morphometrics and machine learning as tools for the identification of sibling mosquito species of the Maculipennis complex (Anopheles).

Nicolò Bellin, Mattia Calzolari, Emanuele Callegari, Paolo Bonilauri, Annalisa Grisendi, Michele Dottori, Valeria Rossi.

  Geometric morphometrics allows researchers to use the specific software to quantify and to visualize morphological differences between taxa from insect wings. Our objective was to assess wing geometry to distinguish four Anopheles sibling species of the Maculipennis complex, An. maculipennis s. s., An. daciae sp. inq., An. atroparvus and An. melanoon, found in Northern Italy. We combined the geometric morphometric approach with different machine learning alghorithms: support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), artificial neural network (ANN) and an ensemble model (EN). Centroid size was smaller in An. atroparvus than in An. maculipennis s. s. and An. daciae sp. inq. Principal component analysis (PCA) explained only 33% of the total variance and appeared not very useful to discriminate among species, and in particular between An. maculipennis s. s. and An. daciae sp. inq. The performance of four different machine learning alghorithms using procrustes coordinates of wing shape as predictors was evaluated. All models showed ROC-AUC and PRC-AUC values that were higher than the random classifier but the SVM algorithm maximized the most metrics on the test set. The SVM algorithm with radial basis function allowed the correct classification of 83% of An. maculipennis s. s. and 79% of An. daciae sp. inq. ROC-AUC analysis showed that three landmarks, 11, 16 and 15, were the most important procrustes coordinates in mean wing shape comparison between An. maculipennis s. s. and An. daciae sp. inq. The pattern in the three-dimensional space of the most important procrustes coordinates showed a clearer differentiation between the two species than the PCA. Our study demonstrated that machine learning algorithms could be a useful tool combined with the wing geometric morphometric approach.

Keywords:  Classification; Landmarks; Malaria vectors; Support vector machine; Wing geometry

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2021.105034
Vaccine. 2021 Aug 07. pii: S0264-410X(21)00920-8. [Epub ahead of print]

Effectiveness of a single-dose mass dengue vaccination in Cebu, Philippines: A case-control study.

Michelle Ylade, Kristal An Agrupis, Jedas Veronica Daag, Maria Vinna Crisostomo, Mark Owen Tabuco, Ava Kristy Sy, Joshua Nealon, Denis Macina, Jesus Sarol, Jacqueline Deen, Anna Lena Lopez.

   BACKGROUND: Dengue fever is an important public health problem in the Philippines. In April 2016, the Department of Health launched a three-dose school based dengue vaccination program of nine- to fourteen-year-old children in three regions with the highest number of dengue cases using CYD-TDV (Dengvaxia, Sanofi Pasteur). In July 2017, a community-based dengue vaccination program was implemented in Cebu province. The program was discontinued in December 2017 amidst public controversy, after the first dose had been administered. We assessed the effectiveness of a single dose of CYD-TDV against hospitalized virologically confirmed dengue (VCD).
METHODS: We conducted a case-control study in Cebu province following the dengue mass vaccination. Children who were nine to fourteen years of age during the mass vaccination and subsequently admitted to any of four participating public hospitals with suspected dengue were enrolled in the study as cases. Blood for RT-PCR and clinical and socio-demographic information were obtained. To estimate the level of vaccine protection, vaccination status was compared between children with hospitalized virologically confirmed dengue and controls of the same six-year age-group as the cases, matched on sex, neighborhood and time of occurrence of cases.
FINDINGS: We enrolled 490 cases and 980 controls. Receipt of one dose of CYD-TDV was associated with 26% (95 % CI, -2 to 47%; p = 0 0675) overall protection against hospitalized virologically confirmed dengue and 51% (95 % CI, 23 to 68; p = 0 0016) protection against dengue with warning signs.
INTERPRETATION: A single dose of CYD-TDV given to nine to fourteen-year-old children through a community-based mass vaccination program conferred protection against dengue with warning signs and severe dengue but we were unable to conclude on protection against milder illness.

Keywords:  Dengue; Dengue fever; Dengue vaccine; Effectiveness

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.07.042
Viruses. 2021 Jul 20. pii: 1409. [Epub ahead of print]13(7):

Previous Usutu Virus Exposure Partially Protects Magpies (Pica pica) against West Nile Virus Disease But Does Not Prevent Horizontal Transmission.

Estela Escribano-Romero, Nereida Jiménez de Oya, María-Cruz Camacho, Ana-Belén Blázquez, Miguel A Martín-Acebes, Maria A Risalde, Laura Muriel, Juan-Carlos Saiz, Ursula Höfle.

  The mosquito-borne flaviviruses USUV and WNV are known to co-circulate in large parts of Europe. Both are a public health concern, and USUV has been the cause of epizootics in both wild and domestic birds, and neurological cases in humans in Europe. Here, we explore the susceptibility of magpies to experimental USUV infection, and how previous exposure to USUV would affect infection with WNV. None of the magpies exposed to USUV showed clinical signs, viremia, or detectable neutralizing antibodies. After challenge with a neurovirulent WNV strain, neither viremia, viral titer of WNV in vascular feathers, nor neutralizing antibody titers of previously USUV-exposed magpies differed significantly with respect to magpies that had not previously been exposed to USUV. However, 75% (6/8) of the USUV-exposed birds survived, while only 22.2% (2/9) of those not previously exposed to USUV survived. WNV antigen labeling by immunohistochemistry in tissues was less evident and more restricted in magpies exposed to USUV prior to challenge with WNV. Our data indicate that previous exposure to USUV partially protects magpies against a lethal challenge with WNV, while it does not prevent viremia and direct transmission, although the mechanism is unclear. These results are relevant for flavivirus ecology and contention.

Keywords:  Flaviviruses; Usutu virus; West Nile virus; avian host; co-infection; cross-protection; magpie

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/v13071409
Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2021 Aug 10. 7(1): 155

Integrated malaria prevention in rural communities in Uganda: a qualitative feasibility study for a randomised controlled trial.

David Musoke, Carol Namata, Rawlance Ndejjo, John C Ssempebwa, Miph B Musoke.

   BACKGROUND: A randomised controlled trial (RCT) on integrated malaria prevention, which advocates the use of several malaria prevention methods holistically, has been proposed. However, before conducting an RCT, it is recommended that a feasibility study is carried out to provide information to support the main study, particularly for such a complex intervention. Therefore, a feasibility study for an RCT on integrated malaria prevention in Uganda was conducted.
METHODS: The qualitative study carried out in Wakiso District employed focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) to explore community willingness to participate in the RCT as well as assess stakeholder perspectives on the future study. The participants of the FGDs were community members, while the key informants were selected from malaria stakeholders including Ministry of Health officials, health practitioners, local leaders, district health team members, and community health workers (CHWs). Thematic analysis was employed with the support of NVivo.
RESULTS: A total of 12 FGDs and 19 KIIs were conducted. Five main themes emerged from the study: malaria prevention practices related to integrated malaria prevention; preferred malaria prevention methods in the integrated approach; potential challenges of integrated malaria prevention; perspectives on the proposed RCT; and sustainability of integrated malaria prevention. Despite a few methods being employed holistically in the community, insecticide-treated nets were the most widely used and preferred method for malaria prevention mainly because they were provided free by the government. The main challenges in the integrated approach were the high cost of some methods such as house screening, and concerns about the potential side effects of insecticide-based methods such as indoor residual spraying. Participants expressed high willingness to participate in the RCT to promote the use of multiple methods in their households and community. Involvement of CHWs during implementation was proposed as a sustainability strategy for the RCT interventions.
CONCLUSION: There was high willingness to participate in the proposed RCT on integrated malaria prevention. However, high cost and perceived negative health effects from some methods were identified as potential challenges. The type of methods to be included as well as sustainability mechanisms needs to be considered during the design of the RCT.

Keywords:  Feasibility study; Integrated approach; Integrated malaria prevention; Malaria prevention; Randomised controlled trial; Uganda

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-021-00894-0
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021 Aug 09. pii: tpmd210276. [Epub ahead of print]

The Unsustainability of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets.

Ellen M Santos, Tatyana M Curtis.

Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are highly effective tools for malaria prevention, and it is clear bed nets are necessary. However, given the environmental concerns of the production, distribution, and disposal of LLINs, the malaria prevention community should look to design sturdier nets that last longer and are made of more sustainable materials to reduce harmful environmental impacts in a time when addressing climate change is urgent. We discuss concerns related to plastic pollution and the environmental health of LLINs in their current form, while recognizing the absolute importance of bed nets for malaria prevention. We call for conversation and innovation among all those involved in malaria prevention to address the unsustainability of LLINs and to maximize the resources available for malaria prevention in a climate of competing global health priorities.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.21-0276