Analyses of mosquito species composition, blood-feeding habits and infection with insect-specific flaviviruses in two arid, pastoralist-dominated counties in Kenya

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Authors

Ogola, Edwin
Bastos, Armanda D.S.
Rotich, Gilbert
Kopp, Anne
Slothouwer, Inga
Omoga, Dorcus Caroline Achieng
Sang, Rosemary
Torto, Baldwyn
Junglen, Sandra
Tchouassi, David P.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

MDPI

Abstract

Insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFs), although not known to be pathogenic to humans and animals, can modulate the transmission of arboviruses by mosquitoes. In this study, we screened 6665 host-seeking, gravid and blood-fed mosquitoes for infection with flaviviruses and assessed the vertebrate hosts of the blood-fed mosquitoes sampled in Baringo and Kajiado counties; both dryland ecosystem counties in the Kenyan Rift Valley. Sequence fragments of two ISFs were detected. Cuacua virus (CuCuV) was found in three blood-fed Mansonia (Ma.) africana. The genome was sequenced by next-generation sequencing (NGS), confirming 95.8% nucleotide sequence identity to CuCuV detected in Mansonia sp. in Mozambique. Sequence fragments of a potential novel ISF showing nucleotide identity of 72% to Aedes flavivirus virus were detected in individual blood-fed Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae s.l., Ma. africana and Culex (Cx.) univittatus, all having fed on human blood. Blood-meal analysis revealed that the collected mosquitoes fed on diverse hosts, primarily humans and livestock, with a minor representation of wild mammals, amphibians and birds. The potential impact of the detected ISFs on arbovirus transmission requires further research.

Description

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Sequences generated were deposited to GenBank under accession numbers OQ588802–OQ588805, OQ588808–OQ588810 and OQ588812, and Sequence Read Archive (SRA) under the accession number PRJNA995362. Other data presented in the study are available in the article and as supplements.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL : FIGURE S1: Classical insect-specific flaviviruses (cISFs) distance matrix.

Keywords

Arbovirus surveillance, Mosquitoes, Blood-fed, Flavivirus, CuaCua virus, Kenya, Insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFs), SDG-03: Good health and well-being, SDG-15: Life on land

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG-03:Good heatlh and well-being
SDG-15:Life on land

Citation

Ogola, E.O.; Bastos, A.D.S.; Rotich, G.; Kopp, A.; Slothouwer, I.; Omoga, D.C.A.; Sang, R.; Torto, B.; Junglen, S.; Tchouassi, D.P. Analyses of Mosquito Species Composition, Blood-Feeding Habits and Infection with Insect-Specific Flaviviruses in Two Arid, Pastoralist-Dominated Counties in Kenya. Pathogens 2023, 12, 967. https://DOI.org/10.3390/pathogens12070967,