ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Mosquito-borne diseases involving arboviruses represent expanding threats to sub-Saharan Africa imposing as considerable burden to human and veterinary public health. In Mozambique over one hundred species of potential arbovirus mosquito vectors have been identified, although their precise role in maintaining such viruses in circulation in the country remains to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to screen for the presence of flaviviruses, alphaviruses and bunyaviruses in mosquitoes from different regions of Mozambique. RESULTS: Our survey analyzed 14,519 mosquitoes, and the results obtained revealed genetically distinct insect-specific flaviviruses, detected in multiple species of mosquitoes from different genera. In addition, smaller flavivirus-like NS5 sequences, frequently detected in Mansonia seemed to correspond to defective viral sequences, present as viral DNA forms. Furthermore, three lineages of putative members of the Phenuiviridae family were also detected, two of which apparently corresponding to novel viral genetic lineages. CONCLUSION: This study reports for the first-time novel insect-specific flaviviruses and novel phenuiviruses, as well as frequent flavivirus-like viral DNA forms in several widely known vector species. This unique work represents recent investigation of virus screening conducted in mosquitoes from Mozambique and an important contribution to inform the establishment of a vector control program for arbovirus in the country and in the region.
Subject(s)
Culicidae/virology , Mosquito Vectors/virology , RNA Viruses/genetics , Alphavirus/classification , Alphavirus/genetics , Alphavirus/isolation & purification , Animals , Arboviruses/classification , Arboviruses/genetics , Arboviruses/isolation & purification , Bunyaviridae/classification , Bunyaviridae/genetics , Bunyaviridae/isolation & purification , Cell Line , Culicidae/classification , DNA, Viral/genetics , Flavivirus/classification , Flavivirus/genetics , Flavivirus/isolation & purification , Mosquito Vectors/classification , Mozambique , Phylogeny , RNA Viruses/classification , RNA Viruses/isolation & purification , RNA, Viral/genetics , Viral Proteins/geneticsABSTRACT
Background: Mosquito-borne diseases involving arboviruses represent expanding threats to sub-Saharan Africa imposing as considerable burden to human and veterinary public health. In Mozambique over one hundred species of potential arbovirus mosquito vectors have been identi-fied, although their precise role in maintaining such viruses in circulation in the country remains to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to screen for the presence of flaviviruses, alphaviruses and bunyaviruses in mosquitoes from different regions of Mozambique. Results: Our survey analyzed 14,519 mosquitoes, and the results obtained revealed genetically distinct insectspecific flaviviruses, detected in multiple species of mosquitoes from different genera. In addition, smaller flaviviruslike NS5 sequences, frequently detected in Mansonia seemed to correspond to defective viral sequences, present as viral DNA forms. Furthermore, three lineages of putative members of the Phenuiviridae family were also detected, two of which apparently corresponding to novel viral genetic lineages. Conclusion: This study reports for the first-time novel insect-specific flaviviruses and novel phenuiviruses, as well as frequent flavivirus-like viral DNA forms in several widely known vector species. This unique work represents recent investigation of virus screening conducted in mosquitoes from Mozambique and an important contribution to inform the establishment of a vector control program for arbovirus in the country and in the region.
Subject(s)
Animals , Bunyaviridae/genetics , DNA, Viral/genetics , Alphavirus/genetics , Flavivirus/genetics , Mosquito Vectors/virology , Culicidae/virology , MozambiqueABSTRACT
We evaluate the performance of the TBcID assay in a panel of 100 acid-fast bacilli cultures. Sixty-four isolates were TBcID positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), whereas 36 gave negative results. These included 28 nontuberculous mycobacteria, one nonmycobacterial isolate, one M. tuberculosis, and six M. bovis BCG strains. This corresponds to a sensitivity of 90.14%, specificity of 100%, and positive and negative predictive values of 100% and 80.55%, respectively. The test is rapid, easy to perform and interpret, and does not require sample preparation or instrumentation. However, a negative result does not exclude the presence of a strain belonging to MTBC, especially when mutations in mpb64 gene are present or some M. bovis BCG strains are isolated. The TBcID showed potential to assist in the identification of MTBC when the implementation and usage of molecular methods are often not possible, principally in resource-limited countries.
