title: Converting Mosquito Surveillance to Arbovirus Surveillance with Honey-Baited Nucleic Acid Preservation Cards.
abstract: Spatially and temporally accurate information about infectious mosquito distribution allows for pre-emptive public health interventions that can reduce the burden of mosquito-borne infections on human populations. However, the labile nature of arboviruses, the low prevalence of infection in mosquitoes, the expensive labor costs for mosquito identification and sorting, and the specialized equipment required for arbovirus testing can obstruct arbovirus surveillance efforts. The recently developed techniques of testing mosquito expectorate using honey-baited nucleic acid preservation cards or sugar bait stations allows a sensitive method of testing for infectious, rather than infected, mosquito vectors. Here we report the results from the first large-scale incorporation of honey-baited cards into an existing mosquito surveillance program. During 4 months of the peak virus season (January-April, 2014) for a total of 577 trap nights, we set CO2-baited encephalitis vector survey (EVS) light traps at 88 locations in South Australia. The collection container for the EVS trap was modified to allow for the placement of a honey-baited nucleic acid preservation card (FTA™ card) inside. After collection, mosquitoes were maintained in a humid environment and allowed access to the cards for 1 week. Cards were then analyzed for common endemic Australian arboviruses using a nested RT-PCR. Eighteen virus detections, including 11 Ross River virus, four Barmah Forest virus, and three Stratford virus (not previously reported from South Australia) were obtained. Our findings suggest that adding FTA cards to an existing mosquito surveillance program is a rapid and efficient way of detecting infectious mosquitoes with high spatial resolution.
authors.affiliation: 1 Sansom Institute for Health Research, and School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia , Adelaide, Australia .
authors.forename: Emily J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Flies
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Medical Entomology, Centre for Infectious Disease Microbiological Laboratory Services, Pathology West-ICPMR, Westmead Hospital , Westmead, Australia .
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Toi
authors.affiliation: 3 School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, and School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia , Adelaide, Australia .
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Weinstein
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Medical Entomology, Centre for Infectious Disease Microbiological Laboratory Services, Pathology West-ICPMR, Westmead Hospital , Westmead, Australia .
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Doggett
authors.affiliation: 1 Sansom Institute for Health Research, and School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia , Adelaide, Australia .
authors.forename: Craig R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000524:Alphavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D001102:Arbovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D001103:Arboviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D009033:Culicidae / Q000821:virology*; D006722:Honey; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology*; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012398:Ross River virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012463:Saliva / Q000821:virology; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Arbovirus; Mosquitoes; Saliva; Surveillance; Transmission