Surveillance Of Mosquito Population In Recife, Brazil To Control Zika Virus Outbreak

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There are many types of vectors that transmit disease between two hosts, generally can be divided into biological and mechanical transmission, however, Mosquito is the most common one that responsible of transmission of many deadliest diseases such as: Malaria, Dengue fever, Chikungunya and Zika. There are 3,500 types of mosquitoes, but research has confirmed that female mosquitoes are responsible for the transmission of diseases because they feed on human blood, unlike the male who feeds on the nectar of flowers.

Transmission of Vector Borne diseases:

The propagation of the bacterium depends on several factors that are similar to the nature of the bacterium and the carrier; the human movement and its susceptibility to the impact of the infection of the bacterium and finally the environment surrounding the bacterium.

The movement of people gives sufficient information about the nature of the spread of disease and the susceptibility of human exposure to germs.

Zika virus> transmission

There is growing evidence that Zika virus infection during the first and second trimester is associated with increased risk for central nervous system malformation of the foetus. The risk associated with infection during the third trimester is unknown. Therefore, Zika virus infection should be considered as a risk throughout the entire duration of pregnancy.

The presence of viable Zika virus in semen has been detected up to 24 days after onset of Zika virus infection symptoms. The longest interval reported between the onset of symptoms in a male and the subsequent onset of the disease thought to be due to sexual transmission in a female partner is 19 days.

All the currently reported sexual transmission events are linked to symptomatic index cases. There is no evidence of transmission by asymptomatic sexual partners.

Diseases that spread by mosquito

Malaria > transmission of Malaria.
Zika virus> transmission

Chikungunya: Spread to persons by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. Chikungunya virus is transmitted rarely from mother to infant around the time of birth.

Dengue fever
Yellow fever.

Factors influence the spread of vector borne disease:

Human movement and global trade

Human mobility is a major behavioural factor in many vector-borne disease systems because it affects vector exposure and hence the transmission of pathogens. Human movement transcends spatial and temporal scales with different effects on disease dynamics. Understanding movement will enable identification of important people and sites in the spread of pathogens such as dengue, which then may provide targets for surveillance, intervention, and enhanced disease prevention.

Climate change and global warming

Transmission of the vector depends on several environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity and wind movement. The impact of climate change and heat transfer on mosquito susceptibility to move more widely. the climate changes mosquito and tick vectors adapt to new environments, which lead to shifts in the spatial distribution, seasonality and incidence rates of disease-carrying mosquitoes and ticks as they move to different regions.

Climate change can form the rates of emerging disease by numerous processes including a direct effect on mosquito and tick vectors, and indirect effects on human vulnerability to emerging VBDs. For example, warmer temperatures principal to lengthier breeding seasons and greater hatch rates.

The role of mosquito population control

Many diseases that humanity faces today have no available treatment, therefore the main form of prevention from diseases such as malaria and lymphatic filariasis -that are transmitted by mosquitos- is vector control. It is thus important to understand the different non-insecticide-based strategies such as biocontrol strategies that target different species, as well as mosquito behavioural knowledge.

Synthetic insecticides have played a major role in the fight against mosquitos, however, it has its many downsides. For instance, Insecticides must be regulated in a way so as not to cause widespread resistance. In addition, if not used with caution its effects on the environment other living organisms can be detrimental. Furthermore, one of the worst properties of synthetic insecticides is its negative effects on human health. This has been widely fought using chemical and non-chemical methods such as covering most parts of the body in bright coloured clothes, sleeping under a mosquito net, the use of plant-borne molecules as well as applying mosquito repellents such as dimethyl phthalate and N,N-diethyl mendelic acid amide. The most used technique however has been the mosquito net, nonetheless, it only protects during the night. Moreover, insecticide treated bed nets however effective are also prone to resistance, specially pyrethroids which the most commonly used. However, it’s important to mention that bed nets played an important role in reducing infection prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum by 40% from 2000 to 2015 In sub-Saharan Africa.

Various biocontrol strategies have been developed to target different stages in the mosquito lifecycle. These strategies include the use of natural molecules to either kill the mosquito, alter its behaviour to improve mortality or increase the release of sterile mosquitos.

The use of botanicals and plant-based mosquitocidals and malaria drugs have been widely researched in the past 10 years, however a lot remains to be discovered in this area. More than 80 plants have been studied to develop effective nanomosquitocides. Most of these molecules are potent at a few parts per million against species such as anopheles and Culex.

Mosquito predators have as well been used to fight mosquitos at different stages of their lifecycle. Mosquito instars are fed upon by water bugs, amphibians, fish and larvae of other mosquito species. However, the use of mosquito predators has generally focused on the use of larvivorous fish that proved to prey on mosquito larvae in different habitats. Nonetheless, the introduction of larvivorous fish as a tool for biological control comes at an ecological cost as the fish can create a threat to native aqua fauna.

Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensi (BTI) is a gram positive, spore forming bacteria that is currently used as a mosquito larvicidal in most European countries. BTI releases toxins and virulence factors and selectively kill larvae. It showed to be particularly effective against Ae. aegypti and Ae. Albopictus. In addition, the use of entomopathogenic fungi has also been advancing, these fungi typically release spores that penetrate the mosquito cuticle, intoxicate it and lead to its death. Obviously, they also have their downfalls, for instance, BTI is prone to resistance if used for longer term, and it’s quite demanding to apply it in urban environments. As for entomopathogenic fungi, further research needs to be done to determine viability, infectivity and persistence of spores in mosquito field environments.

Sterile Insect Technique is a tool used to produces sterile males of the species by treating them with chemoterlizing techniques or irradiation. The strategy aims at reducing population by either causing dominant lethal mutations in sperm and create chromosomal deviations. and has been successfully used to eradicate Cochliomyia hominivorax from North and Central America. However, there is an initial need to reduce the number of wild males before the release of sterile ones, which makes it a bit challenging for this method to be applied widely.

Genetic engineering has also been used for population suppression through the introduction of a self-limiting gene. This lethal gene can be supressed using tetracycline, which allows for rearing the species in facilities prior to their release. In addition, being species specific ensures target species aren’t affected by it in the long term as it only works on reducing populations in targeted areas. biotech company called Oxitec investigating a direct approach to a line of genetically modified Ades aegypti mosquitoes called OX513A to reduce the population number of mosquitos in the wild. Inserting two genes, Lethality gene and Fluorescent marker gene. These genes were inserted in genome of mosquito eggs. The lethality gene makes the mosquito dependent on antibiotic Tetracycline, which is fed to them in the lab, but it’s not available in the wild. The Fluorescent marker gene produces a protein that glows red when exposed to a light of a certain wavelength that tells the scientist which mosquito have the lethality gene. After the first genetically modified mosquito grew into adults scientist bred them into the lab. These mosquitos passed on the genetic modification to each generation giving rise to a colony of genetically modified mosquitoes all dependent on Tetracycline.

Moreover, the more information obtained about the mating ecology of mosquitos increases the ability to develop effective strategies for population reduction. For example, studying courtship can help releasing high quality males. It is worth mentioning that most studies in this area exclude courtship and mating rituals which can be extremely useful.

The role of mobile application in reporting and repelling mosquitoes

The use of mobile applications in the repelling of mosquitoes has spread widely in recent times, but there is no study to confirm the safety and efficiency of these applications. Looking at users’ reviews on YouTube and on the app site, there is a significant variation between those who claim that applications have driven mosquitoes, while others argue that the application is ineffective. This variation may depend on the type of mosquitoes and the surrounding environment or may depend on the type of mobile phone used so there must be lessons to know the differences. However, many company create mobile application allowing users to report about mosquitoes, for instance, a Brazilian company called Colab technologia created an application called “Sem Dengue” this allows the user to report mosquitoes and the possibility of taking and uploading images and linked to the geographical location and this reports goes to the local authorities to take a further action.

Crowdsourcing projects are used in several applications to develop and promote health, including diagnosis, nutrition, disease surveillance ,health education, and for disaster preparedness and response.

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