Detection of Rift Valley Fever Virus in <i>Aedes</i> (<i>Aedimorphus</i>) <i>durbanensis,</i> South Africa
Carien van den Bergh,
Peter N. Thompson,
Robert Swanepoel,
Antonio P. G. Almeida,
Janusz T. Paweska,
Petrus Jansen van Vuren,
William C. Wilson,
Alan Kemp,
Estelle H. Venter
Affiliations
Carien van den Bergh
Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
Peter N. Thompson
Department of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
Robert Swanepoel
Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
Antonio P. G. Almeida
Unidade de Parasitologia Medica, Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Universidade Nova Lisboa, 1365-008 Lisboa, Portugal
Janusz T. Paweska
Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Sandringham, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa
Petrus Jansen van Vuren
Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Sandringham, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa
William C. Wilson
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA
Alan Kemp
Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Sandringham, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa
Estelle H. Venter
Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
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.
