Kavinya Mwendwa, Francis Mutuku, Sammy Wambua, Makenzi Nzaro, Bryson A Ndenga, Kennedy Agoi, Angelle D LaBeaud, Carren Bosire
{"title":"Temporal Variation and Human Host Predominance in <i>Aedes aegypti</i> from Coastal and Western Kenya: Insights from Pooled Blood Meal Metagenomics.","authors":"Kavinya Mwendwa, Francis Mutuku, Sammy Wambua, Makenzi Nzaro, Bryson A Ndenga, Kennedy Agoi, Angelle D LaBeaud, Carren Bosire","doi":"10.3390/pathogens14050505","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Aedes aegypti</i> is the primary vector of arboviral diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika, posing significant global health and economic challenges. The effective control of this mosquito species requires understanding its seasonality, feeding behavior, and ecological dynamics. Modern molecular techniques, such as amplicon metagenomic sequencing, provide insights into vector-host interactions and feeding patterns. This study investigated the temporal variation of <i>Ae. aegypti</i> abundance and its blood meal sources in coastal and western Kenya over 16 months. A total of 64,360 mosquitoes were collected, with <i>Ae. aegypti</i> comprising 10.9% (7035/64,360). Coastal sites had a higher proportion (64.7%) of <i>Ae. aegypti</i> than western Kenya. Seasonal variation in abundance was observed, with peaks during the long rainy season and decline during the dry season. Blood meal analysis identified 15 vertebrate hosts, with humans being the primary source (86.6-95.9%). Other hosts included domestic animals such as turkey, sheep, cow, goat, and chicken. These findings highlight the role of rainfall in arboviral disease transmission and <i>Ae. aegypti</i>'s strong preference for human hosts. Additionally, this study demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of group testing for identifying blood meal sources, with implications for public health interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":19758,"journal":{"name":"Pathogens","volume":"14 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12114503/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Pathogens","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14050505","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of arboviral diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika, posing significant global health and economic challenges. The effective control of this mosquito species requires understanding its seasonality, feeding behavior, and ecological dynamics. Modern molecular techniques, such as amplicon metagenomic sequencing, provide insights into vector-host interactions and feeding patterns. This study investigated the temporal variation of Ae. aegypti abundance and its blood meal sources in coastal and western Kenya over 16 months. A total of 64,360 mosquitoes were collected, with Ae. aegypti comprising 10.9% (7035/64,360). Coastal sites had a higher proportion (64.7%) of Ae. aegypti than western Kenya. Seasonal variation in abundance was observed, with peaks during the long rainy season and decline during the dry season. Blood meal analysis identified 15 vertebrate hosts, with humans being the primary source (86.6-95.9%). Other hosts included domestic animals such as turkey, sheep, cow, goat, and chicken. These findings highlight the role of rainfall in arboviral disease transmission and Ae. aegypti's strong preference for human hosts. Additionally, this study demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of group testing for identifying blood meal sources, with implications for public health interventions.
期刊介绍:
Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817) publishes reviews, regular research papers and short notes on all aspects of pathogens and pathogen-host interactions. There is no restriction on the length of the papers. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical research in as much detail as possible. Full experimental and/or methodical details must be provided for research articles.