Abstract

The surveillance and detection of zoonotic pathogens in animals is essential for predicting disease transmission pathways and the risks of spillover, but challenges include the costs, ethics and technical expertise required for vertebrate trapping, serum sampling and antibody or virus screening. Surveillance using haematophagous arthropods as a sampling tool offers a unique opportunity to obtain blood samples from a wide range of vertebrate species, allowing the study of host-mosquito associations, and host exposure to pathogens. We explored vertebrate diversity and potential Ross River virus (RRV) transmission pathways by analysing blood-fed mosquitoes collected in Brisbane, Australia. Host origins were identified using barcode sequencing, and host exposure to RRV was assessed using a modified plaque reduction neutralisation test. In total, 480 blood-fed mosquitoes were collected between February 2021 and May 2022. The host origins of 346 (72%) bloodmeals were identified, with humans (73%) and cattle (9%) comprising the dominant hosts. RRV seroprevalence was high in both vertebrate species with evidence of RRV exposure in 70% (21/30) of cattle and 52% (132/253) of humans. This is a novel, non-invasive method of estimating seroprevalence in vertebrate host populations. Our results highlight the potential of blood-fed mosquitoes to provide species-specific insights into pathogen transmission dynamics.

Details

Title
Mosquito bloodmeals can be used to determine vertebrate diversity, host preference, and pathogen exposure in humans and wildlife
Author
Vieira, Carla Julia S. P. 1 ; Gyawali, Narayan 2 ; Onn, Michael B. 3 ; Shivas, Martin A. 3 ; Shearman, Damien 4 ; Darbro, Jonathan M. 4 ; Wallau, Gabriel L. 5 ; van den Hurk, Andrew F. 6 ; Frentiu, Francesca D. 7 ; Skinner, Eloise B. 8 ; Devine, Gregor J. 2 

 QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Mosquito Control Laboratory, Brisbane, Australia (GRID:grid.1049.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2294 1395); Queensland University of Technology, Centre for Immunology and Infection Control, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brisbane, Australia (GRID:grid.1024.7) (ISNI:0000 0000 8915 0953) 
 QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Mosquito Control Laboratory, Brisbane, Australia (GRID:grid.1049.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2294 1395) 
 Brisbane City Council, Entomology Laboratory, Public Space Operations, Brisbane, Australia (GRID:grid.1049.c) 
 Queensland Health, Metro North Public Health Unit, Brisbane, Australia (GRID:grid.415606.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 0380 0804) 
 Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Department of Entomology and Bioinformatic Core of the Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Recife, Brazil (GRID:grid.418068.3) (ISNI:0000 0001 0723 0931); National Reference Center for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Department of Arbovirology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Center for Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Hamburg, Germany (GRID:grid.424065.1) (ISNI:0000 0001 0701 3136) 
 Queensland Health, Public Health Virology, Forensic and Scientific Services, Brisbane, Australia (GRID:grid.415606.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 0380 0804) 
 Queensland University of Technology, Centre for Immunology and Infection Control, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brisbane, Australia (GRID:grid.1024.7) (ISNI:0000 0000 8915 0953) 
 Stanford University, Department of Biology, Stanford, USA (GRID:grid.168010.e) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8956); Griffith University, Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Gold Coast, Australia (GRID:grid.1022.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 0437 5432) 
Pages
23203
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3113185507
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.