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Viruses Nov 2014Diseases caused by arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), such as Dengue, West Nile, and Chikungunya, constitute a major global health burden and are increasing in... (Review)
Review
Diseases caused by arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), such as Dengue, West Nile, and Chikungunya, constitute a major global health burden and are increasing in incidence and geographic range. The natural microbiota of insect vectors influences various aspects of host biology, such as nutrition, reproduction, metabolism, and immunity, and recent studies have highlighted the ability of insect-associated bacteria to reduce vector competence for arboviruses and other pathogens. This reduction can occur through mechanisms, such as immune response activation, resource competition, or the production of anti-viral molecules. Studying the interactions between insect vectors and their microbiota is an important step toward developing alternative strategies for arbovirus transmission control.
Topics: Animals; Arboviruses; Culicidae; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Insect Vectors; Microbiota
PubMed: 25393895
DOI: 10.3390/v6114294 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2013Mosquitoes vary in their competence or ability to transmit arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). Many arboviruses cause disease in humans and animals. Identifying the... (Review)
Review
Mosquitoes vary in their competence or ability to transmit arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). Many arboviruses cause disease in humans and animals. Identifying the environmental and genetic causes of variation in mosquito competence for arboviruses is one of the great challenges in public health. Progress identifying genetic (nature) and environmental (nurture) factors influencing mosquito competence for arboviruses is reviewed. There is great complexity in the various traits that comprise mosquito competence. The complex interactions between environmental and genetic factors controlling these traits and the factors shaping variation in Nature are largely unknown. The norms of reaction of specific genes influencing competence, their distributions in natural populations and the effects of genetic polymorphism on phenotypic variation need to be determined. Mechanisms influencing competence are not likely due to natural selection because of the direct effects of the arbovirus on mosquito fitness. More likely the traits for mosquito competence for arboviruses are the effects of adaptations for other functions of these competence mechanisms. Determining these other functions is essential to understand the evolution and distributions of competence for arboviruses. This information is needed to assess risk from mosquito-borne disease, predict new mosquito-arbovirus systems, and provide novel strategies to mitigate mosquito-borne arbovirus transmission.
Topics: Animals; Arbovirus Infections; Arboviruses; Biological Evolution; Culicidae; Humans; Insect Vectors; Phenotype; Selection, Genetic
PubMed: 23343982
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph10010249 -
Southern Medical Journal Oct 2020
Topics: Animals; Arbovirus Infections; Arboviruses; Chikungunya Fever; Chikungunya virus; Dengue; Dengue Virus; Humans; Mosquito Control; Mosquito Vectors; Zika Virus; Zika Virus Infection
PubMed: 33005970
DOI: 10.14423/SMJ.0000000000001152 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2021Many mosquito-borne viruses (arboviruses) are endemic in Africa, contributing to systemic and neurological infections in various geographical locations on the continent.... (Review)
Review
Many mosquito-borne viruses (arboviruses) are endemic in Africa, contributing to systemic and neurological infections in various geographical locations on the continent. While most arboviral infections do not lead to neuroinvasive diseases of the central nervous system, neurologic diseases caused by arboviruses include flaccid paralysis, meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis, encephalomyelitis, neuritis, and post-infectious autoimmune or memory disorders. Here we review endemic members of the and families that cause neurologic infections, their neuropathogenesis and host neuroimmunological responses in Africa. We also discuss the potential for neuroimmune responses to aide in the development of new diagnostics and therapeutics, and current knowledge gaps to be addressed by arbovirus research.
Topics: Africa; Animals; Arbovirus Infections; Arboviruses; Bunyaviridae; Central Nervous System; Encephalitis, Arbovirus; Epidemics; Flaviviridae; Humans; Togaviridae
PubMed: 35003087
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.769942 -
Emerging Infectious Diseases Apr 2006Arboviruses have evolved a number of strategies to survive environmental challenges. This review examines the factors that may determine arbovirus emergence, provides... (Review)
Review
Arboviruses have evolved a number of strategies to survive environmental challenges. This review examines the factors that may determine arbovirus emergence, provides examples of arboviruses that have emerged into new habitats, reviews the arbovirus situation in western Europe in detail, discusses potential arthropod vectors, and attempts to predict the risk for arbovirus emergence in the United Kingdom. We conclude that climate change is probably the most important requirement for the emergence of arthropodborne diseases such as dengue fever, yellow fever, Rift Valley fever, Japanese encephalitis, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, bluetongue, and African horse sickness in the United Kingdom. While other arboviruses, such as West Nile virus, Sindbis virus, Tahyna virus, and Louping ill virus, apparently circulate in the United Kingdom, they do not appear to present an imminent threat to humans or animals.
Topics: Animals; Arbovirus Infections; Arboviruses; Communicable Diseases, Emerging; Culicidae; Humans; United Kingdom
PubMed: 16704800
DOI: 10.3201/eid1204.051010 -
Science Translational Medicine Oct 2023Emerging zoonotic mosquito-borne viruses pose increasing health threats because of growing mosquito population, geographic expansions, and control challenges. We... (Review)
Review
Emerging zoonotic mosquito-borne viruses pose increasing health threats because of growing mosquito population, geographic expansions, and control challenges. We emphasize the need for global preparedness to effectively mitigate the health, societal, and economic impacts of spillover by these viruses through proactive measures of prediction, surveillance, prevention, and treatment.
Topics: Animals; Arboviruses; Arbovirus Infections; Culicidae
PubMed: 37851824
DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adj2166 -
The Journal of General Virology Oct 2021Mosquito-transmitted arboviruses constitute a large proportion of emerging infectious diseases that are both a public health problem and a threat to animal populations.... (Review)
Review
Mosquito-transmitted arboviruses constitute a large proportion of emerging infectious diseases that are both a public health problem and a threat to animal populations. Many such viruses were identified in East Africa, a region where they remain important and from where new arboviruses may emerge. We set out to describe and review the relevant mosquito-borne viruses that have been identified specifically in Uganda. We focused on the discovery, burden, mode of transmission, animal hosts and clinical manifestation of those previously involved in disease outbreaks. A search for mosquito-borne arboviruses detected in Uganda was conducted using search terms 'Arboviruses in Uganda' and 'Mosquitoes and Viruses in Uganda' in PubMed and Google Scholar in 2020. Twenty-four mosquito-borne viruses from different animal hosts, humans and mosquitoes were documented. The majority of these were from family , followed by , , and only one each from family and . Sixteen (66.7%) of the viruses were associated with febrile illnesses. Ten (41.7%) of them were first described locally in Uganda. Six of these are a public threat as they have been previously associated with disease outbreaks either within or outside Uganda. Historically, there is a high burden and endemicity of arboviruses in Uganda. Given the many diverse mosquito species known in the country, there is also a likelihood of many undescribed mosquito-borne viruses. Next generation diagnostic platforms have great potential to identify new viruses. Indeed, four novel viruses, two of which were from humans (Ntwetwe and Nyangole viruses) and two from mosquitoes (Kibale and Mburo viruses) were identified in the last decade using next generation sequencing. Given the unbiased approach of detection of viruses by this technology, its use will undoubtedly be critically important in the characterization of mosquito viromes which in turn will inform other diagnostic efforts.
Topics: Animals; Arbovirus Infections; Arboviruses; Communicable Diseases, Emerging; Culicidae; Disease Outbreaks; Endemic Diseases; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Humans; Mosquito Vectors; Prevalence; Uganda
PubMed: 34609940
DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001680 -
Virus Genes Apr 2019The advancement in high-throughput sequencing technology and bioinformatics tools has spurred a new age of viral discovery. Arthropods is the largest group of animals... (Review)
Review
The advancement in high-throughput sequencing technology and bioinformatics tools has spurred a new age of viral discovery. Arthropods is the largest group of animals and has shown to be a major reservoir of different viruses, including a group known as insect-specific viruses (ISVs). The majority of known ISVs have been isolated from mosquitoes and shown to belong to viral families associated with animal arbovirus pathogens, such as Flaviviridae, Togaviridae and Phenuiviridae. These insect-specific viruses have a strict tropism and are unable to replicate in vertebrate cells, these properties are interesting for many reasons. One is that these viruses could potentially be utilised as biocontrol agents using a similar strategy as for Wolbachia. Mosquitoes infected with the viral agent could have inferior vectorial capacity of arboviruses resulting in a decrease of circulating arboviruses of public health importance. Moreover, insect-specific viruses are thought to be ancestral to arboviruses and could be used to study the evolution of the switch from single-host to dual-host. In this review, we discuss new discoveries and hypothesis in the field of arboviruses and insect-specific viruses.
Topics: Animals; Arboviruses; Culicidae; Flaviviridae; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Insect Vectors; Insect Viruses; Pest Control, Biological; Species Specificity; Togaviridae; Virus Diseases; Virus Replication
PubMed: 30632016
DOI: 10.1007/s11262-018-01629-9 -
Parasites & Vectors Aug 2022Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the main vectors of highly pathogenic viruses for humans, such as dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika (ZIKV), which cause... (Review)
Review
Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the main vectors of highly pathogenic viruses for humans, such as dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika (ZIKV), which cause febrile, hemorrhagic, and neurological diseases and remain a major threat to global public health. The high ecological plasticity, opportunistic feeding patterns, and versatility in the use of urban and natural breeding sites of these vectors have favored their dispersal and adaptation in tropical, subtropical, and even temperate zones. Due to the lack of available treatments and vaccines, mosquito population control is the most effective way to prevent arboviral diseases. Resident microorganisms play a crucial role in host fitness by preventing or enhancing its vectorial ability to transmit viral pathogens. High-throughput sequencing and metagenomic analyses have advanced our understanding of the composition and functionality of the microbiota of Aedes spp. Interestingly, shotgun metagenomics studies have established that mosquito vectors harbor a highly conserved virome composed of insect-specific viruses (ISV). Although ISVs are not infectious to vertebrates, they can alter different phases of the arboviral cycle, interfering with transmission to the human host. Therefore, this review focuses on the description of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus as vectors susceptible to infection by viral pathogens, highlighting the role of the microbiota-virome in vectorial competence and its potential in control strategies for new emerging and re-emerging arboviruses.
Topics: Aedes; Animals; Arboviruses; Humans; Mosquito Vectors; Virome; Zika Virus; Zika Virus Infection
PubMed: 35945559
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05401-9 -
Viruses Aug 2020Arthropod-borne viruses contribute significantly to global mortality and morbidity in humans and animals. These viruses are mainly transmitted between susceptible... (Review)
Review
Arthropod-borne viruses contribute significantly to global mortality and morbidity in humans and animals. These viruses are mainly transmitted between susceptible vertebrate hosts by hematophagous arthropod vectors, especially mosquitoes. Recently, there has been substantial attention for a novel group of viruses, referred to as insect-specific viruses (ISVs) which are exclusively maintained in mosquito populations. Recent discoveries of novel insect-specific viruses over the past years generated a great interest not only in their potential use as vaccine and diagnostic platforms but also as novel biological control agents due to their ability to modulate arbovirus transmission. While arboviruses infect both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, the replication of insect-specific viruses is restricted in vertebrates at multiple stages of virus replication. The vertebrate restriction factors include the genetic elements of ISVs (structural and non-structural genes and the untranslated terminal regions), vertebrate host factors (agonists and antagonists), and the temperature-dependent microenvironment. A better understanding of these bottlenecks is thus warranted. In this review, we explore these factors and the complex interplay between ISVs and their hosts contributing to this host restriction phenomenon.
Topics: Animals; Arboviruses; Arthropods; Host Specificity; Humans; Insect Viruses; Virus Diseases
PubMed: 32878245
DOI: 10.3390/v12090964