Heterogeneous feeding patterns of the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti, on individual human hosts in rural Thailand
Autor(es): Harrington, Laura C.; Fleisher, Andrew; Ruiz-Moreno, Diego; Vermeylen, Francoise; Wa, Chrystal V.; Poulson, Rebecca L; Edman, John D.; Clark, John M.; Jones, James W.; Kitthawee, Sangvorn; Scott, Thomas W.
Resumo: Dengue, a potentially lethal infection impacting hundreds of millions of human lives annually, is caused by viruses transmitted during mosquito blood feeding. With no vaccine or treatment commercially available, understanding the underlying factors linked to virus exposure is critical for developing more effective dengue interventions. We conducted a study in an endemic region of Thailand where transmission is high and children are expected to be the non-immune, amplifying portion of the host population. We examined Ae. aegypti feeding patterns and risk by matching human DNA profiles in blood-fed mosquitoes to study area residents. A small number of meals matched people from the study area, suggesting that mosquitoes feed on people moving transiently through communities. People under 25 years of age were bitten less frequently than older people. We constructed network models to explore the presence of mosquito feeding "hotspots" and detected a local market "hotspot" in one study village during the high dengue transmission season. Our results provide new details on dengue vector feeding patterns and highlight the need to conduct integrated studies of vector feeding and human behavior, and virus transmission patterns in order to better understand the dengue transmission efficiency and spread.
Palavras-Chave: Endemic species; Human diseases; Hot spots; Viruses; Disease control; Hosts; Aquatic insects; Disease transmission; Public health; Feeding; Age; Vectors; Infection; Children; Models; Blood; Dengue; DNA; Vaccines; Feeding behavior; Aedes aegypti
Imprenta: Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, v. 8, n. 8, 2014.
Descritores: Aedes aegypti - DNA ; Aedes aegypti - Virus ; Aedes aegypti - Transmission ; Aedes aegypti - Vaccine ; Aedes aegypti - Dengue ; Aedes aegypti - Public health
Data de publicação: 2014
