Biology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2021 Jan;21(1):50-58. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2020.2648. Epub 2020 Sep 30.
Ross River virus (RRV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic arbovirus associated with high public health and economic burdens across Australia, but particularly in South East Queensland (SEQ). Despite this high burden, humans are considered incidental hosts. Transmission of RRV is maintained among mosquitoes and many nonhuman vertebrate reservoir hosts, although the relative contributions of each of these hosts are unclear. To clarify the importance of a range of vertebrates in RRV transmission in SEQ, a total of 595 serum samples from 31 species were examined for RRV exposure using a gold-standard plaque reduction neutralization test. Data were analyzed statistically using generalized linear models and a coefficient inference tree, and spatially. RRV exposure was highly variable between and within species groups. Critically, species group ("placental mammal," "marsupial," and "bird"), which has previously been used as a proxy for reservoir hosts, was a poor correlate for exposure. Instead, we found that generalized "diet" and greater "body mass" were most strongly correlated with seropositivity. We also identified significant differences in seropositivity between the two major possum species (ringtail possums and brushtail possums), which are ecologically and taxonomically different. Finally, we identified distinct hotspots and coldspots of seropositivity in nonhuman vertebrates, which correlated with human notification data. This is the largest diversity of species tested for RRV in a single study to date. The analysis methods within this study provide a framework for analyzing serological data in combination with species traits for other zoonotic disease, but more specifically for RRV highlight areas to target further public health research and surveillance effort.
罗斯河病毒（RRV）是一种通过蚊子传播的人畜共患病虫媒病毒，在澳大利亚各地，尤其是在昆士兰州东南部（SEQ），造成了巨大的公共卫生和经济负担。尽管负担如此沉重，但人类被认为是偶然宿主。RRV 在蚊子和许多非人类脊椎动物储存宿主中传播，尽管这些宿主各自的贡献尚不清楚。为了阐明一系列脊椎动物在 SEQ 中 RRV 传播中的重要性，使用黄金标准蚀斑减少中和试验检测了来自 31 个物种的 595 份血清样本，以检测 RRV 暴露情况。使用广义线性模型和系数推理树以及空间分析对数据进行了统计分析。RRV 暴露在物种组之间和组内差异很大。至关重要的是，以前用作储存宿主代理的物种组（“胎盘哺乳动物”、“有袋动物”和“鸟类”）与暴露相关性很差。相反，我们发现广义的“饮食”和更大的“体重”与血清阳性率相关性最强。我们还发现，两种主要负鼠（长尾负鼠和帚尾负鼠）之间的血清阳性率存在显著差异，它们在生态和分类上有所不同。最后，我们在非人类脊椎动物中确定了血清阳性率的明显热点和冷点，这些热点和冷点与人类通知数据相关。这是迄今为止单一研究中测试的最大的 RRV 物种多样性。本研究中的分析方法为分析血清学数据提供了一个框架，该框架可与其他人畜共患病的物种特征结合使用，而更具体地针对 RRV，则突出了确定进一步公共卫生研究和监测工作重点的领域。
