Bridging Vectors of Dengue Fever: The Endless Cycle

Abstract

Within the past 10 years, there has been a resurgence of arboviral disease outbreaks within the sub-Saharan region of Africa due to the geographic expansion of both the mosquito vectors and their resistance to insecticides. The reasons for this resurgence are not well understood, migration of people, movement of disease vectors, and deforestation as a result of rapid and unplanned urbanization may lead to increased erosion of their natural habitats leading to contact with humans, and/or previously obligate sylvatic species might acclimatize to new urban environments and hosts, potentially with a greater role as vectors. And lack of effective control methods for Aedes mosquitoes. The possibility of arboviruses to adapt to new vectors rapidly occur, and this can have great significant consequences. Other Aedes species such as Aedes africanus and Ae. luteocephalus. play a vital role in the transmission of arboviruses in Africa because they are involved in sylvatic arbovirus transmission cycles and can also act as a bridge vector to humans. Bridge vectors may initiate a human outbreak, but large epidemics typically occur only when virus transmission involves urban populations of Ae. aegypti or Ae. albopictus, which has the ability to feed on both humans and other vertebrates.