Abstract
Diseases caused by flaviviruses, including dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis, are major health problems in Vietnam. This cross-sectional study explored the feasibility of domestic dogs as sentinels to better understand risks of mosquito-borne diseases in Hanoi city. A total of 475 dogs serum samples from 221 households in six districts of Hanoi were analyzed by a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) for antibodies to the pr-E protein of West Nile virus and other flaviviruses due to cross-reactivity. The overall flavivirus seroprevalence in the dog population was 70.7% (95% CI = 66.4–74.8%). At the animal level, significant associations between seropositive dogs and district location, age, breed and keeping practice were determined. At the household level, the major risk factors were rural and peri-urban locations, presence of pigs, coil burning and households without mosquito-borne disease experience (p < 0.05). Mosquito control by using larvicides or electric traps could lower seropositivity, but other measures did not contribute to significant risk mitigation of flavivirus exposure in dogs. These results will support better control of mosquito-borne diseases in Hanoi, and they indicate that dogs can be used as sentinels for flavivirus exposure.
Highlights
Viruses within the genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae are responsible for a number of vector-borne diseases in humans, such as dengue, Japanese encephalitis (JE), Zika, yellow fever, West Nile (WN) and many others worldwide [1].In nature, mosquito-borne flaviviruses circulate between arthropod vectors, generallyAedes spp. mosquitoes for dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV) and yellow fever virus (YFV), and Culex spp. mosquitoes for Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and West Nile virus (WNV), and vertebrate hosts [2]
Sample size was calculated as 475 dogs with 50% of the assumed true seroprevalence due to no previous data available for flavivirus prevalence in the dog population of Hanoi city, 5% desired precision, a 95% confidence level and a test assumed with 95% sensitivity and 95% specificity [10]
The owners were interviewed by a structured questionnaire (Supplementary file, Household questionnaire) form that was pre-tested for comprehensibility, of which demographic characteristics of the respondents and their dogs, potential risk factors related to livestock keeping and mosquito prevention practices were included, and dog blood was taken for serology
Summary
Viruses within the genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae are responsible for a number of vector-borne diseases in humans, such as dengue, Japanese encephalitis (JE), Zika, yellow fever, West Nile (WN) and many others worldwide [1]. Aedes spp. mosquitoes for dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV) and yellow fever virus (YFV), and Culex spp. mosquitoes for Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and West Nile virus (WNV), and vertebrate hosts [2]. Mosquitoes acquire flaviviruses mainly through horizontal transmission by taking a bloodmeal from a viremic animal, or possibly through vertical transmission from mother to offspring [3], while vertebrate hosts become infected by the probing process of blood feeding of an infected mosquito vector [4]. People in the city are exposed to flaviviruses, mainly DENV and JEV [7]
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