Mosquito-borne viruses circulating in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

HighlightsAdult mosquitoes collected in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), were screened for viruses in this study.Approximately 40% of mosquitoes were found to be infected with Alphavirus, Flavivirus, and/or Bunyaviridae.Chikungunya, o’nyong’nyong, and Rift valley fever viruses were found in mosquitoes.Habitats favouring mosquito breeding and viral transmission were found in Kinshasa.Screening for mosquito-borne viruses in humans and livestock in DRC is recommended.

Dengue and Chikungunya among Febrile Outpatients in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: a cross-sectional study

“…Similarly, the results of CHIKV serology could be the result of cross-reaction with other togaviruses, but this is very unlikely in DRC as Mayaro is only present in South America, and there is no apparent circulation of o'nyong nyong, Semliki Forest and Sindbis virus. YFV was detected in mosquitoes collected in Kinshasa a year before our study (23) and was actively circulating in the region at the time of study, transgressing the border with Angola (21), but we did not detect any acute case. The report of YFV vaccination was very low (below 1%), but as YFV vaccination is included in the childhood vaccination program over the last decade, this may indicate that the population is not aware of which vaccines their children get.…”

Mosquito-borne viral diseases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a review

“…2). Only two recent entomological studies were recorded in DRC, one study on Aedes fauna in Kinshasa [12] and another one on mosquito virus infectivity [13].…”

“…In 2018, a seroprevalence (IgG and IgM) of 2-16% among cattle was reported in three provinces (Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, Ituri) from the eastern region [35]. In 2014, RVFV was also detected by RT-PCR from a pool of Aedes mosquitoes collected around Ndjili River in Kinshasa [13].…”

“…O'nyong'nyong virus (ONNV) is a closer CHIKV related alphavirus vectored mainly by the Anopheles mosquito. Its RNA was detected by RT-PCR from a pool of Anopheles mosquito collected in Kinshasa [13]. Serological evidence of ONNV has been recorded in buffaloes from the Garamba National Park and duikers from the Ituri Rain Forest [33].…”

“…Significantly high rates of neutralizing antibodies against flaviviruses and alphaviruses have been reported in buffaloes, elephants, gorillas and duikers from the Congo River basin [33]. In Kinshasa, alphavirus and flavivirus RNA in mosquito pools have been amplified with the primers targeting a conserved region of these genera, but none of these mosquito pools have been amplified with specific primers for CHIKV, ONNV, YFV, WNV or DENV [13]. In the Ango and Bondo territories from Bas-Uélé, up to 100% of antibodies against bunyavirus in humans have been reported [32].…”