Ecology of west nile virus in the danube delta, Romania: Phylogeography, xenosurveillance and mosquito host-feeding patterns

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Erscheinungsjahr:
2019
Medientyp:
Text
Schlagworte:
  • Blood meal
  • Phylogeography
  • Virus genetics
  • West Nile virus
  • Xenosurveillance
Beschreibung:
  • The ecology ofWest Nile virus (WNV) in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (Romania) was investigated by combining studies on the virus genetics, phylogeography, xenosurveillance and host-feeding patterns of mosquitoes. Between 2014 and 2016, 655,667 unfed and 3842 engorged mosquito females were collected from four sampling sites. Blood-fed mosquitoes were negative for WNV-RNA, but two pools of unfed Culex pipiens s.l./torrentium collected in 2014 were tested positive. Our results suggest that Romania experienced at least two separate WNV lineage 2 introductions: from Africa into Danube Delta and from Greece into south-eastern Romania in the 1990s and early 2000s, respectively. The genetic diversity of WNV in Romania is primarily shaped by in situ evolution. WNV-specific antibodies were detected for 19 blood-meals from dogs and horses, but not from birds or humans. The hosts of mosquitoes were dominated by non-human mammals (19 species), followed by human and birds (23 species). Thereby, the catholic host-feeding pattern of Culex pipiens s.l./torrentium with a relatively high proportion of birds indicates the species' importance as a potential bridge vector. The low virus prevalence in combination with WNV-specific antibodies indicate continuous, but low activity of WNV in the Danube Delta during the study period.
Lizenz:
  • info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Quellsystem:
Forschungsinformationssystem der UHH

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