Journal of Vector Borne Diseases (Jun 2010)
Patient-based dengue virus surveillance in Aedes aegypti from Recife, Brazil
Abstract
Background & objectives: Dengue is currently one of the most important arthropod-borne diseasesand may be caused by four different dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4), transmittedmainly by Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes. With the lack of a dengue vaccine,vector control strategies constitute a crucial mode to prevent or reduce disease transmission. Inthis context, DENV detection in natural Ae. aegypti populations may serve as a potential additionaltool for early prediction systems of dengue outbreaks, leading to an intensification of vector controlmeasures, aimed at reducing disease transmission. In Brazil, this type of surveillance has beenperformed sporadically by a few groups and has not been incorporated as a routine activity incontrol programs. This study aimed at detecting DENV in natural Ae. aegypti from Recife,Pernambuco, to check the circulating serotypes and the occurrence of transovarial transmission inlocal mosquito populations.Methods: From January 2005 to June 2006, mosquitoes (adults and eggs) were collected in houseswhere people with clinical suspicion of dengue infection lived at. RNA was extracted from pooledmosquitoes and RT-PCR was performed in these samples for detection of the four DENV serotypes.Results & conclusion: Out of 83 pools of adult mosquitoes collected in the field, nine were positivefor DENV: five for DENV-1, two for DENV-2 and two for DENV-3. From 139 pools of adultmosquitoes reared from collected eggs, there were 17 positive pools: three for DENV-1, 10 forDENV-2, and four for DENV-3. These results are discussed in the paper in regard to the localdengue epidemiological data. The conclusions clearly point to the informative power and sensitivityof DENV entomological surveillance and to the importance of including mosquito immature formsin this strategy.
