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#Vector competence for #Oropouche virus: A systematic #review of pre-2024 experiments

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By G.M.

Abstract {1}

The 2023–24 epidemic of Oropouche fever in the Americas and the associated ongoing outbreak in Cuba suggests a potential state shift in the epidemiology of the disease, raising questions about which vectors are driving transmission. In this study, we conduct a systematic review of vector competence experiments with Oropouche virus (OROV, Orthobunyavirus) that were published prior to the 2023–24 epidemic season. Only seven studies were published by September 2024, highlighting the chronic neglect that Oropouche virus (like many other orthobunyaviruses) has been subjected to since its discovery in 1954. Two species of midge (Culicoides paraensis and C. sonorensis) consistently demonstrate a high competence to transmit OROV (~30%), while mosquitoes (including both Aedes and Culex spp.) exhibited an infection rate consistently below ~20%, and showed limited OROV transmission. Further research is needed to establish which vectors are involved in the ongoing outbreak in Cuba, and whether local vectors and wildlife communities create any risk of establishment in non-endemic regions.


Abstract {2}

Oropouche virus has recently become an urgent threat to public health in Central and South America. OROV is mainly transmitted by biting midges; however, some public health agencies and scientific sources note that some mosquito species transmit the virus. We conducted a systematic review of literature prior to the current epidemic, and identified seven studies that experimentally tested the ability of vectors to become infected with, and transmit OROV (i.e., that assessed their vector competence). These studies have consistently found that biting midges become infected at higher rates than mosquitoes, which rarely transmit the virus. It is unclear which vectors are responsible for transmitting OROV in the current outbreak. Existing published data support the observation that biting midges are likely to be significant vectors compared to mosquitoes, which are comparatively incompetent. However, increased vector surveillance and pathogen testing, and additional vector competence experiments using current OROV strains, are urgently needed.

Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0013014

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