Abstract
Mosquito community composition plays a central role in the transmission of zoonotic vector-borne pathogens. We evaluated how the mosquito community affects the seroprevalence of West Nile virus (WNV) in house sparrows along an urbanisation gradient in an area with the endemic circulation of this virus. We sampled 2544 birds and 340829 mosquitoes in 45 localities, analysed in 15 groups, each containing one urban, one rural and one natural area. WNV seroprevalence was evaluated using an epitope-blocking ELISA kit and a micro virus-neutralization test (VNT). The presence of WNV antibodies was confirmed in 1.96% and 0.67% of birds by ELISA and VNT, respectively. The VNT-seropositive birds were captured in rural and natural areas, but not in urban areas. Human population density was zero in all the localities where VNT-positive birds were captured, which potentially explains the low incidence of human WNV cases in the area. The prevalence of neutralizing antibodies against WNV was positively correlated with the abundance of the ornithophilic Culex perexiguus but negatively associated with the abundance of the mammophilic Ochlerotatus caspius and Anopheles atroparvus. These results suggest that the enzootic circulation of WNV in Spain occurs in areas with larger populations of Cx. perexiguus and low human population densities.
Highlights
The mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV; Flaviviridae) circulates naturally in wild birds[1]
Taking into account the above-mentioned studies, we first compared the prevalence of WNV antibodies in urban, rural and natural areas to determine how the distributions of mosquitoes, WNV and people explain the low incidence of WNV in humans in Spain
The other species were trapped in relatively low numbers and for this reason—and because they are not involved in the transmission of WNV—were not considered in any of the analyses
Summary
The mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV; Flaviviridae) circulates naturally in wild birds[1]. Active circulation of WNV occurs here, as is shown by virus isolation from mosquitoes[14,19], seroconversions in wild birds[20], the presence of antibodies in juvenile birds[21], and the incidence of disease in humans and horses[11,22]. In this region, house sparrows are common hosts of mosquitoes[17], competent hosts for WNV23 and may play a key role in WNV amplification and transmission to humans[24,25,26]. We analysed the relationship between WNV seroprevalence and the abundance of mosquito species that, according to Muñoz et al.[17], may contribute in different ways to WNV amplification
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