Impact of weather variables on mosquitoes infected with Japanese encephalitis virus in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess the virus infection in mosquitoes during different seasons and correlated with various climatic factors. MethodsThe field collected vectors were screened for Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus after dessication using ELISA method. Most of the positive pools were recorded from Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Cx. tritaeniorhynchus) and Culex. gelidus (Cx. gelidus) during JE transmission season (winter) and some positive pools were also reported during non JE transmission periods (i.e. summer and rainy seasons). ResultsThe minimum infection rates (MIR) of 1.75 from Cx. tritaeniorhynchus and 0.17 from Cx. gelidus has been reported in the year 2002 at the beginning of the study and the values were found nil at the end of the study (2006) from the study areas of Kurnool district. ConclusionsFrom this study it is noted that MIR of Cx. gelidus and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus were modulated by various meteorological parameters. The mosquito vector abundance increases after the monsoon period (winter) and lowest in dry season (summer). Similarly, MIR fluctuated between seasons with higher MIR recorded after monsoon period and lower in the rest of season. Impact of these metrological parameters in JE virus infected mosquitoes is discussed in this paper.