Xenodiagnosis: use of mosquitoes for the diagnosis of arboviral infections

Abstract

The arboviruses have a worldwide distribution and, mosquitoes and ticks contribute principally intheir transmission. In the last two decades, arboviral diseases have been recognised due to theirresurgence and spread in newer geographic areas. Surveys to determine the prevalence of arbovirusesin any region largely depend on the isolation attempts from the arthropods along with the serosurveys.Xenodiagnosis means use of insects for the diagnosis of infectious diseases affecting humanbeing. The present communication discusses the application of mosquitoes for propagation and assaysof arboviruses, the technique of mosquito inoculation and importance of xenodiagnosis.

Keywords

• Arboviruses
• mosquitoes
• xenodiagnosis