The oral susceptibility of South African livestock-associated Culicoides species to selected orbiviruses

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Date
2007-11
Authors
Venter, Gert Johannes
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University of the Free State
Abstract
English: Culicoides (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) midges play an essential role in transmitting orbiviruses. Recent outbreaks of bluetongue (BT) in Europe highlighted the risk for introduction and rapid spread of vector-borne diseases outside their traditional boundaries, and increase international interest in arbovirus epidemiology. African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and bluetongue virus (BTV) cause diseases of high socio-economic impact, especially on international trade. Identifying potential vectors is crucial for the implementation of integrated control measures, disease risk analysis and management. Determination of oral susceptibility of Culicoides species to infection with orbiviruses provides valuable data for assessing vector competence. The aim of this work was to 1) determine oral susceptibility of livestock associated midges to infection with wild-type and live-attenuated strains of BTV and AHSV; 2) evaluate the efficiency of different light sources for the collection of Culicoides species; 3) compare laboratory blood-feeding methods; 4) identify potential vectors and 5) determine field infection prevalence in Culicoides species in the winter rainfall region of South Africa during an outbreak of AHS. Although black light collection did not have any influence on the agegrading determination of a Culicoides population, it was more effective than white light for the collection of adult Culicoides midges. Cotton wool feeding yielded lower infection rates than membrane feeding due to the greater blood meal size taken by Culicoides females fed through the latter. Virus recovery of reference and vaccine strains of BTV was higher in Culicoides bolitinos than in Culicoides imicola. There was no significant difference between the oral susceptibility of C. bolitinos and C.-imicola for the various AHSV isolates used. Virus recovery of the vaccine strain of AHSV serotype 7 (AHSV-7) from C. imicola at Onderstepoort was higher than that of the field strains of AHSV-7. Culicoides imicola from the eastern Free State was more susceptible to AHSV than in Gauteng. Both BTV and AHSV were recovered from non-Avaritia Culicoides species. These results indicate BT and AHS to be multi vector diseases and add to the complexity of the epidemiology of orbiviruses. True assessment of vector competence might be difficult to assess if it would require some level of real-time monitoring, e.g. testing local Culicoides populations using variants of orbiviruses in current circulation. Light trap surveys in the winter rainfall area of South Africa during an outbreak of AHSV demonstrated that C. imicola is superabundant and occurs in numbers to be equal or even higher than that in the summer rainfall areas. Results of oral susceptibility studies and the recovery of different orbiviruses, indicate this population of C. imicola to be highly vector competent.
Afrikaans: Culicoides (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) bytende muggies speel ‘n onontbeerlike rol in die oordraging van orbivirusse. Die huidige uitbrake van bloutong (BT) in Europa illustreer die gevaar vir die invoering en vinnige verspreiding van vektor oorgedraagde siektes buite hul gevestigde voorkomsgebiede en het gelei tot verhoogde internasionale belangstelling in die epidemiologie van arbovirusse. Die siektes wat deur perdesiektevirus (PSV) en bloutongvirus (BTV) veroorsaak word, het ‘n hoë sosio-ekonomiese impak, veral met betrekking tot internasionale handel. Die identifisering van moontlikke vektore is ‘n belangrike voorvereiste vir die implementering van intergrale beheermaatreëls, risikobepaling en siektebestuur. Die bepaling van die mondelingse vatbaarheid van Culicoides spesies vir besmetting met orbivirusse gee waardevolle inligting vir die bepaling van die vektorbevoegdheid van spesies. Die doel van die studie was om die mondelingse vatbaarheid van muggie spesies, wat by plaasdiere aangetref word, vir veld- en lewend geatenueerde entstofstamme van BTV en PSV te bepaal. ‘n Verdere doel was om die geskiktheid van verskillende ligbronne vir die versameling van muggies te evalueer en om kunsmatige bloedvoedingmetodes te vergelyk. Die identifikasie van potensiële vektore en die bepaling van veldinfeksie in Culicoides spesies tydens uitbrake van PS in die winterreënvalgebied van Suid-Afrika is ook gedoen. Alhoewel daar geen verskil in die ouderdomsamestelling van Culicoides bevolkings soos met swart en witlig versamel is nie, was swartlig meer effektief vir die versameling van volwasse Culicoides muggies. Infeksiesyfers soos bepaal met kunsmatige voeding op bloed deurdrenkte watte was laer as die bepaal met membraamvoeding. Die verskil is die gevolg van ‘n groter bloedmaal wat deur Culicoides wyfies opgeneem word tydens membraanvoeding. Die isolasie van beide die verwysing- en die entstofstamme van BTV was hoër in C. bolitinos as in C.-imicola. Daar was egter geen betekenisvolle verskil in die vatbaarheid van C.-bolitinos en C. imicola vir die verskillende PSV isolate wat gebruik is nie. Die isolasie van die entstofstam van PSV-7 uit C. imicola wat by Onderstepoort versamel is, was hoër as die van die veldisolate van PSV-7. Culicoides imicola wat in die oos Vrystaat versamel is, was meer vatbaar vir PSV as C. imicola wat in Gauteng versamel is. Beide BTV en PSV was geïsoleer uit Culicoides spesies wat nie aan die subgenus Aviritia behoort nie. Die resultate dui daarop dat BTV en PSV deur meer as een vektor oorgedra kan word en verhoog dus die kompleksiteit van die epidemiologie van die siektes. Dit sal relatief moeilik wees om die ware bepaling van die vektorbevoegdheid van ‘n spesie te doen, aangesien dit onder andere die toetsing van plaaslike Culicoides bevolkings met die virusstam wat die uitbraak veroorsaak sal behels. Ligvalopnames tydens uitbrake van PS in die wintereënvalgebied van Suid- Afrika het aangetoon dat C. imica baie volop is en dat die getalle wat versamel kan word gelyk of selfs hoër kan wees as die getalle wat in die somerreënvalgebiede versamel kan word. Resultate van vatbaarheid en die isolasie van veldstamme van verskeie spesies van orbivirusse dui daarop dat die C. imicola bevolking in die winterreënvalgebied ‘n hoogs bekwame en doeltreffende vektor van orbivirusse is.
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Keywords
African horse sickness, Artificial feeding, Bluetongue, Culicoides, Light trap collection, Livestock, Oral susceptibility, South Africa, Vaccine, Orbivirus infections in animals, Insects as carriers of disease, Livestock -- Diseases, Thesis (Ph.D. (Zoology and Entomology))--University of the Free State, 2007
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