Van den Bergh, CarienThompson, P.N. (Peter N.)Swanepoel, RobertAlmeida, Antonio Paulo GouveiaPaweska, Janusz TadeuszVan Vuren, Petrus JansenWilson, William C.Kemp, AlanVenter, Estelle Hildegard2023-10-042023-10-042022-01-21van den Bergh, C.; Thompson, P.N.; Swanepoel, R.; Almeida, A.P.G.; Paweska, J.T.; Jansen van Vuren, P.; Wilson,W.C.; Kemp, A.; Venter, E.H. Detection of Rift Valley Fever Virus in Aedes (Aedimorphus) durbanensis, South Africa. Pathogens 2022, 11, 125. https://DOI.org/10.3390/pathogens11020125.2076-0817 (online)10.3390/pathogens11020125http://hdl.handle.net/2263/92693SUPPORTING INFORMATION : TABLE S1. Mosquito species and the total number of mosquitoes collected; TABLE S2. Rift Valley fever virus isolates used as reference strains and for construction of the phylogenetic tree.DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study can be find in the main text and the Supplementary Materials. The accession number of the isolate (Partial Segment L, 3555 nt) in GenBank is MW183126.Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne, zoonotic phlebovirus-causing disease in domestic ruminants and humans in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and some Indian Ocean islands. Outbreaks, characterized by abortion storms and a high morbidity rate in newborn animals, occur after heavy and prolonged rainfalls favouring the breeding of mosquitoes. However, the identity of the important mosquito vectors of RVFV is poorly known in most areas. Mosquitoes collected in the Ndumo area of tropical north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, were tested for RVFV nucleic acid using RT-PCR. The virus was detected in a single pool of unfed Aedes (Aedimorphus) durbanensis, indicating that this seasonally abundant mosquito species could serve as a vector in this area of endemic RVFV circulation. Phylogenetic analysis indicated the identified virus is closely related to two isolates from the earliest outbreaks, which occurred in central South Africa more than 60 years ago, indicating long-term endemicity in the region. Further research is required to understand the eco-epidemiology of RVFV and the vectors responsible for its circulation in the eastern tropical coastal region of southern Africa.en© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.Aedes (Aedimorphus) durbanensisTransmissionMosquito vectorRift Valley fever virus (RVFV)Article