Pathogens spread by high-flying wind-borne mosquitoes
Abstract
Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue threaten billions of people and cause the death of hundreds of thousands annually. Recent studies have revealed that many mosquito species regularly engage in high-altitude wind-borne migration, but its epidemiological significance remains unclear. The hypothesis that high-flying mosquitoes spread pathogens over long distances has not been directly tested. Here, we report that high-flying mosquitoes are commonly infected with arboviruses, protozoans, and helminths and provide a insights into this pathogen–vector aerial network. A total of 1,017 female mosquitoes intercepted on nets suspended from helium balloons at 120 to 290 m above ground over Mali and Ghana were screened for infection with arboviruses, Haemosporida, and filariae. The mosquitoes collected at altitude comprised 61 species, across 10 genera, dominated by Culex , Aedes, and Anopheles . Infection and infectiousness (capacity to transmit a pathogen to another host inferred based on disseminated infection) rates of migrant mosquitoes were 7.2% and 4.4% with Plasmodium spp., 1.6% and 0.6% with filariae, and 3.5% and 1.1% with flaviviruses, respectively. Twenty-one mosquito-borne pathogens were identified, including Dengue, West Nile, and M’Poko viruses, 15 avian Plasmodium species including Plasmodium matutinum , and three filariids, including Pelecitus sp. Confirmed head–thorax (disseminated) infections of multiple pathogens in Culex perexiguus , Mansonia uniformis , and Anopheles squamosus reveal that pathogens carried by high-altitude wind-borne mosquitoes are capable of infecting hosts far from their departure location. This high-altitude traffic of sylvatic pathogens (circulating in wild animals) may be key to their maintenance among enzootic foci as well as initiating outbreaks at distant locations.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (24)
Roland Bamou
Division of Intramural Research, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Adama Dao
Malaria Research and Training Center/Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-Stomatology University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako
Alpha S. Yaro
Malaria Research and Training Center/Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-Stomatology University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako
Cedric Kouam
Division of Intramural Research, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Koray Ergunay
Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History
Brian P. Bourke
Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History
Moussa Diallo
Malaria Research and Training Center/Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-Stomatology University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako
Zana L. Sanogo
Malaria Research and Training Center/Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-Stomatology University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako
Samake Djibril
Malaria Research and Training Center/Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-Stomatology University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako
Yaw A. Afrane
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, University of Ghana
Abdul Rahim Mohammed
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, University of Ghana
Christopher M. Owusu-Asenso
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, University of Ghana
Gabriel Akosah-Brempong
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, University of Ghana
Cosmos M. Pambit-Zong
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, University of Ghana
Benjamin J. Krajacich
Division of Intramural Research, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Roy Faiman
Division of Intramural Research, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
M. Andreina Pacheco
Biology Department/Institute of Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine, Temple University
Ananias A. Escalante
Biology Department/Institute of Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine, Temple University
Scott C. Weaver
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch
Rita Nartey
Division of Intramural Research, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Jason W. Chapman
Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University
Don R. Reynolds
Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich
Yvonne-Marie Linton
Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History
Tovi Lehmann
Division of Intramural Research, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health