One Health Centre for Zoonoses and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, West Farm, Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis.
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, St. Paul, MN, USA.
Parasit Vectors. 2020 Oct 30;13(1):540. doi: 10.1186/s13071-020-04419-1.
Dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses (DENV, CHIKV and ZIKV) are transmitted in sylvatic transmission cycles between non-human primates and forest (sylvan) mosquitoes in Africa and Asia. It remains unclear if sylvatic cycles exist or could establish themselves elsewhere and contribute to the epidemiology of these diseases. The Caribbean island of St. Kitts has a large African green monkey (AGM) (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus) population and is therefore ideally suited to investigate sylvatic cycles.
We tested 858 AGM sera by ELISA and PRNT for virus-specific antibodies and collected and identified 9704 potential arbovirus vector mosquitoes. Mosquitoes were homogenized in 513 pools for testing by viral isolation in cell culture and by multiplex RT-qPCR after RNA extraction to detect the presence of DENV, CHIKV and ZIKVs. DNA was extracted from 122 visibly blood-fed individual mosquitoes and a polymorphic region of the hydroxymethylbilane synthase gene (HMBS) was amplified by PCR to determine if mosquitoes had fed on AGMs or humans.
All of the AGMs were negative for DENV, CHIKV or ZIKV antibodies. However, one AGM did have evidence of an undifferentiated Flavivirus infection. Similarly, DENV, CHIKV and ZIKV were not detected in any of the mosquito pools by PCR or culture. AGMs were not the source of any of the mosquito blood meals.
Sylvatic cycles involving AGMs and DENV, CHIKV and ZIKV do not currently exist on St. Kitts.
登革热病毒、基孔肯雅热病毒和寨卡病毒（DENV、CHIKV 和 ZIKV）在非洲和亚洲的非人类灵长类动物和森林（丛林）蚊子之间的丛林传播循环中传播。目前尚不清楚是否存在丛林循环，或者它们是否能够在其他地方建立并对这些疾病的流行病学产生影响。圣基茨岛是一个大型的非洲绿猴（AGM）（Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus）种群的所在地，因此非常适合研究丛林循环。
我们通过 ELISA 和 PRNT 测试了 858 份 AGM 血清，以检测病毒特异性抗体，并收集和鉴定了 9704 种潜在的虫媒病毒媒介蚊子。将蚊子在 513 个池中均质化，用于细胞培养中的病毒分离和 RNA 提取后的多重 RT-qPCR 检测，以检测 DENV、CHIKV 和 ZIKV 的存在。从 122 只肉眼可见的吸血个体蚊子中提取 DNA，并通过 PCR 扩增羟甲基胆素合酶基因（HMBS）的多态性区域，以确定蚊子是否吸食了 AGM 或人类的血液。
所有的 AGM 都没有 DENV、CHIKV 或 ZIKV 抗体。然而，有一只 AGM 确实有未分化的黄病毒感染的证据。同样，通过 PCR 或培养，没有在任何蚊子池中检测到 DENV、CHIKV 和 ZIKV。AGM 不是任何蚊子血液来源。
目前，圣基茨岛上不存在涉及 AGM 与 DENV、CHIKV 和 ZIKV 的丛林循环。
