Stechmücken als Überträger exotischer Krankheitserreger in Deutschland

Abstract

As a result of intensified globalization of international trade and of substantial travel activities, mosquito-borne exotic pathogens are becoming an increasing threat for Europe. In Germany some 50 different mosquito species are known, several of which have vector competence for pathogens. During the last few years a number of zoonotic arboviruses that are pathogenic for humans have been isolated from mosquitoes in Germany including Usutu, Sindbis and Batai viruses. In addition, filarial worms, such as Dirofilaria repens have been repeatedly detected in mosquitoes from the federal state of Brandenburg. Other pathogens, in particular West Nile virus, are expected to emerge sooner or later in Germany as the virus is already circulating in neighboring countries, e.g. France, Austria and the Czech Republic. In upcoming years the risk for arbovirus transmission might increase in Germany due to increased occurrence of new so-called "invasive" mosquito species, such as the Asian bush mosquito Ochlerotatus japonicus or the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus. These invasive species are characterized by high vector competence for a broad range of pathogens and a preference for human blood meals. For risk assessment, a number of mosquito and pathogen surveillance projects have been initiated in Germany during the last few years; however, mosquito control strategies and plans of action have to be developed and put into place to allow early and efficient action against possible vector-borne epidemics.

Characterization of a novel circo-like virus in Aedes vexans mosquitoes from Germany: evidence for a new genus within the family Circoviridae

“…Mosquitoes were originally collected for the German Arbovirus Surveillance Program (Becker et al, 2014). The full circular krikovirus genomes, named GMB19 and GMB51, were then amplified using inverse PCR with specific primers and Sanger sequencing using primer walking (see Table S1, available in the online Supplementary Material).…”

Zika Virus (ZIKV)

“…Both A. aegypti and A. albopictus are considered as potential vectors for ZIKV; however, differences in the vectorial competence to transmit arboviruses like DENV and CHIKV have been described [113]. Therefore, it can be assumed that under appropriate climatic conditions autochthonous transmissions of ZIKV can be expected in the distribution area of the Aedes mosquitoes and probably of other mosquito species in Europe as well [114][115][116]. Potential sources of infection for mosquitoes in Germany are primarily travellers returning from ZIKV-endemic areas.…”

“…In recent years, several research projects have been initiated in Germany and in Europe concerning the regional distribution of domestic mosquito species and changes in their distribution over time [115,117]. Another objective of the projects is the identification of exotic mosquito species such as A. albopictus and A. aegypti which are imported mainly by the international transport of goods.…”

“…It is remarkable that there is an apparent coincidence of the occurrence of these diseases and the distribution of A. albopictus in Europe [118]. In Germany, the presence of A. albopictus and other exotic mosquitoes and breeding sites were found close to international transport routes [115,117,121]. With these findings in mind, it was discussed whether A. albopictus might become established in Germany in regions with mild climate like the Upper Rhine [122].…”

Surveillance of Batai Virus in Bovines from Germany

“…In humans, BATV infection is associated with influenza-like febrile illness (6). The German arbovirus surveillance program demonstrated the presence of BATV in southwest Germany in anopheline and culicine mosquitoes in 2009 (BATV strain 53.2; GenBank accession number HQ455791) and 2012 (BATV strains 5593, 5676, and 5677) (7,8). To estimate the veterinary importance of BATV, we investigated the presence of BATV-specific antibodies and viral RNA in bovines from the administrative district of Karlsruhe, southwest Germany.…”