Mosquito-borne viruses circulating in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kennedy Makola Mbanzulu; Roger Wumba; Jean-Pierre Kambala Mukendi; Josué Kikana Zanga; Fortunate Shija; Thierry Lengu Bobanga; Michel Ntetani Aloni; Gerald Misinzo

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2017.01.016

Mosquito-borne viruses circulating in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Int J Infect Dis. 2017 Apr:57:32-37. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2017.01.016. Epub 2017 Jan 30.

Authors

Kennedy Makola Mbanzulu¹, Roger Wumba², Jean-Pierre Kambala Mukendi³, Josué Kikana Zanga³, Fortunate Shija⁴, Thierry Lengu Bobanga², Michel Ntetani Aloni⁵, Gerald Misinzo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Tropical Medicine, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, PO Box 747 Kinshasa XI, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology, College of Veterinary and Medical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania. Electronic address: makolambanzulu@yahoo.fr.
² Department of Tropical Medicine, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, PO Box 747 Kinshasa XI, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
³ Department of Tropical Medicine, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, PO Box 747 Kinshasa XI, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology, College of Veterinary and Medical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
⁴ Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology, College of Veterinary and Medical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
⁵ Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Abstract

Background: Diseases caused by mosquito-borne viruses are among the most important emerging diseases that threaten human and animal health, particularly in Africa. However, little attention has been paid to these diseases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The present cross-sectional study was undertaken between March and May 2014 to investigate the presence of mosquito-borne viruses in mosquitoes collected from five municipalities of Kinshasa, DRC.

Methods: Mosquitoes were collected using BG-Sentinel traps and battery-powered aspirators. Female mosquitoes were pooled according to their genera and sampling locations, preserved in RNAlater, and later screened for viruses using reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) assays.

Results: A total of 2922 mosquitoes were collected and 29 pools of female mosquitoes, containing approximately 30 mosquitoes each, were tested. Twelve of the 29 (41.4%) mosquito pools were found to be infected with at least one arbovirus, with eight (27.5%) pools positive for Alphavirus, nine (31%) for Flavivirus, and five (17.2%) for Bunyaviridae. Chikungunya, o'nyong'nyong, and Rift valley fever viruses were detected.

Conclusions: The present study shows that mosquitoes in Kinshasa carry mosquito-borne viruses that may have serious public health implications. Further investigations on the presence of mosquito-borne viruses in the human and livestock populations of Kinshasa and DRC are recommended.

Keywords: Arboviruses; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Kinshasa; Mosquito-borne viruses; Mosquitoes.

MeSH terms

Africa
Alphavirus
Animals
Arboviruses / isolation & purification*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Culicidae / virology*
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Female
Flavivirus / isolation & purification*
Humans
Orthobunyavirus / isolation & purification*