Kizu Joanne, Graham Melissa, Izuagbe Rhys, McPherson Brady, Kaminiel Peter, Liu Wenjun
Australian Defense Force Malaria and Infectious Disease Institute, Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, Queensland.
Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia.
MSMR. 2025 Aug 20;32(8):9-17.
Arboviruses pose a significant health threat to U.S. military personnel deployed in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) region. In 2023 we conducted a sero-epidemiological study to determine the arboviruses circulating in 185 Papua New Guinea military personnel (PNGMP), using the neutralizing antibody (NAb) assay. Overall, sero-positivity rates among the 185 PNGMP tested were: anti-Zika virus (ZIKV), 87% (n=161); anti-Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), 62.2% (n=115); anti-Ross River virus (RRV), 44.3% (n=82); anti-Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV), 39.5% (n=73); anti-chikungunya virus (CHIKV), 33.5% (n=62); anti-Barmah Forest virus (BFV), 10.8% (n=20); and anti-West Nile virus (WNV), 5.9% (n=11). The monotypic NAb sero-positivity rates for dengue virus (DENV) serotypes were: anti-DENV-1 94.6% (n=175), anti-DENV-2 93% (n=172), anti-DENV-3 95.1% (n=176), and anti-DENV-4 31.4% (n=57). These findings indicate that the majority of PNGMP had prior exposure to DENV and ZIKV, with a notable proportion exposed to CHIKV, RRV, JEV, and MVEV, and lower levels of exposure to BFV and WNV. Low or moderate prior exposure may leave individual PNGMP immunologically naïve and more susceptible to infection and disease upon first exposure. Furthermore, secondary DENV infections with a different serotype can increase risk of severe disease due to immune enhancement mechanisms such as antibody-dependent enhancement. Understanding these exposure patterns is crucial for assessing population risk and informing surveillance and prevention strategies. U.S. soldiers exercising or deploying to Papua New Guinea should adhere to strict preventive measures for minimizing mosquito bites and reducing their risk of arboviral infections. To our knowledge, this study provides the first comprehensive examination of arbovirus sero-positivity rates in Papua New Guinea military personnel (PNGMP) following the COVID-19 pandemic. After examining sero-positivity of 11 arboviruses, we found a majority of PNGMP with neutralizing antibodies (NAb) to dengue and Zika viruses, with some NAb to chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, Ross River, and Murray Valley encephalitis viruses. Sero-prevalence to Barmah Forest and West Nile viruses was less common.
虫媒病毒对部署在美国印太司令部（INDOPACOM）地区的美国军事人员构成重大健康威胁。2023年，我们开展了一项血清流行病学研究，使用中和抗体（NAb）检测法来确定185名巴布亚新几内亚军事人员（PNGMP）中传播的虫媒病毒。总体而言，在接受检测的185名PNGMP中，血清阳性率分别为：抗寨卡病毒（ZIKV），87%（n = 161）；抗日本脑炎病毒（JEV），62.2%（n = 115）；抗罗斯河病毒（RRV），44.3%（n = 82）；抗墨累河谷脑炎病毒（MVEV），39.5%（n = 73）；抗基孔肯雅病毒（CHIKV），33.5%（n = 62）；抗巴马森林病毒（BFV），10.8%（n = 20）；抗西尼罗河病毒（WNV），5.9%（n = 11）。登革病毒（DENV）各血清型的单型NAb血清阳性率分别为：抗DENV - 1 94.6%（n = 175），抗DENV - 2 93%（n = 172），抗DENV - 3 95.1%（n = 176），抗DENV - 4 31.4%（n = 57）。这些发现表明，大多数PNGMP先前接触过DENV和ZIKV，相当一部分人接触过CHIKV、RRV、JEV和MVEV，而接触BFV和WNV的水平较低。先前低水平或中等水平的接触可能使个体PNGMP在免疫上处于未致敏状态，首次接触时更容易感染和患病。此外，不同血清型的DENV二次感染由于抗体依赖性增强等免疫增强机制，会增加患严重疾病的风险。了解这些接触模式对于评估人群风险以及为监测和预防策略提供信息至关重要。在美国的士兵若前往巴布亚新几内亚进行演习或部署，应严格遵守预防措施，尽量减少蚊虫叮咬，降低感染虫媒病毒的风险。据我们所知，本研究首次全面检测了新冠疫情后巴布亚新几内亚军事人员（PNGMP）中虫媒病毒的血清阳性率。在检测了11种虫媒病毒的血清阳性情况后，我们发现大多数PNGMP对登革热和寨卡病毒具有中和抗体（NAb），对基孔肯雅、日本脑炎、罗斯河和墨累河谷脑炎病毒也有一些NAb。对巴马森林和西尼罗河病毒的血清流行率较低。
