Mosquito-borne viruses in Europe

Abstract

The number of mosquito-borne viruses ('moboviruses') occurring in Europe since the twentieth century now stands at ten; they belong to three families-Togaviridae (Sindbis, Chikungunya), Flaviviridae (West Nile, Usutu, Dengue), and Bunyaviridae (Batai, Tahyna, Snowshoe hare, Inkoo, Lednice). Several of them play a definite role in human or animal pathology (Sindbis, Chikungunya, Dengue, West Nile, Tahyna). Mobovirus outbreaks are strictly determined by the presence and/or import of particular competent vectors of the disease. Ecological variables affect moboviruses considerably; the main factors are population density of mosquito vectors and their vertebrate hosts, intense summer precipitations or floods, summer temperatures and drought, and presence of appropriate habitats, e.g., wetlands, small water pools, or intravillan sewage systems. A surveillance for moboviruses and the diseases they cause in Europe is recommendable, because the cases may often pass unnoticed or misdiagnosed not only in free-living vertebrates but also in domestic animals and even in humans.

The Presence and Seroprevalence of Arthropod-Borne Viruses in Nasiriyah Governorate, Southern Iraq: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…This is consistent with the view that TAHV is widespread in Europe, 30 Russia, 31 Africa, [32][33][34][35] and Asia (southern Siberia and the Far East, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, and China), 30,[36][37][38] whereas INKV and CHATV may be restricted to northern Europe and Asia. 2,30,39 In the endemic region of Europe, approximately 5% of the general population are seropositive for TAHV, 40 and very high frequency (60-80%) of neutralizing antibodies have been reported in elderly persons in the endemic foci. 30 In this study, we detected eight TAHV seropositive individuals (2% of the study population) in southern Iraq, suggesting that the virus also circulates in the Middle East region, even though the human exposure to this virus may be lower than in the central Europe.…”

“…2,30,39 In the endemic region of Europe, approximately 5% of the general population are seropositive for TAHV, 40 and very high frequency (60-80%) of neutralizing antibodies have been reported in elderly persons in the endemic foci. 30 In this study, we detected eight TAHV seropositive individuals (2% of the study population) in southern Iraq, suggesting that the virus also circulates in the Middle East region, even though the human exposure to this virus may be lower than in the central Europe.…”

Seasonal dynamics of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Osijek (Croatia) for the period 1995–2004

“…In relation to population abundance, the following species do not create a large nuisance problem in the Osijek area, but their roles in pathogen transmission has been confirmed by many authors (Lundström 1999;Gaunt et al 2001;Bakonyi et al 2005;Gratz 2006;Hubálek 2008). …”

Daily and seasonal variation in the activity of potential vector mosquitoes

“…Great attention has been devoted to researching mosquito outbreaks, which occur relatively frequently in this area [1,2], while faunistic works are also numerous [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Especially significant are studies focusing on mosquitoes as potential vectors of pathogenic agents, particularly viruses [10][11][12][13][14][15]. However, in Moravia, as in the rest of Europe, research on seasonal dynamics of the most prominent mosquito species and their daily activity has been largely neglected.…”