Suchergebnisse

West Nile virus (WNV) is the aetiological agent of the mosquito-borne zoonotic disease West Nile fever. The virus, first isolated in Uganda in 1937, evolved into two distinct lineages in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that subsequently spread to most continents where the virus has evolved further as evident through phylogenetic analysis of extant genomes. Numerous published reports from the past 70 years from countries in SSA indicate that the virus is endemic across the region. However, due in part to the limited availability of diagnostic methods across large areas of the continent, the human burden of WNV is poorly understood. So too are the drivers for translocation of the virus from countries south of the Sahara Desert to North Africa and Europe. Migratory birds are implicated in this translocation although the transient viraemia, measured in days, and the time taken to migrate, measured in weeks, suggest a more complex mechanism is in play. This review considers the evidence for the presence of WNV across SSA and the role of migratory birds in the emergence of the virus in other continents. ; We appreciate the support of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Nigeria, for the financial support that partly assisted the doctoral research of WS. ; This study was supported by the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), Scottish Government and Welsh Government through grant SV3045 and the Animal Health and Welfare ERA-NET (Anihwa) funded ARBONET project SE0550. ; http://www.parasitesandvectors.com ; am2018 ; Medical Virology

Mosquitoes are the most important arthropods from the point of view of public health, due to the fact that they can transmit a large number of pathogens which can cause diseases to humans and animals. Aedes aegypti (L.) is one of the most important vector species in the world, since it can transmit numerous pathogens such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. Therefore, studies involving the molecular aspects of this and other mosquitoes species are currently increasing. In this report, we describe the comparison between two DNA extraction techniques, Chelex and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), for carrying out DNA extraction in larvae, pupae and adult female of Ae. aegypti. The Chelex technique was superior in the amount and purity of DNA as compared to the CTAB technique in the three life stages we tested. ; Department for Environment Food and Rural Affair (DEFRA), Scottish Government [SV3045, SE4113]; Department for Environment Food and Rural Affair (DEFRA), Welsh Government [SV3045, SE4113]; EUEuropean Union (EU) [653316] ; Luis M Hernandez-Triana would like to thank the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Scottish Government and Welsh Government through grants SV3045, and SE4113, and the EU Framework Horizon 2020 Innovation Grant, European Virus Archive (EVAg, grant no. 653316) for funding.