Mosquito and Arbovirus Surveillance at Bradshaw Field Training Area, Northern Territory, Australia

Abstract

Mosquito surveillance and mosquito-borne arbovirus detections in the area of Bradshaw Field Training Area (BFTA) in Northern Territory, Australia, have not been previously documented. A survey to record the mosquito species within BFTA and determine if arboviruses are present in them was conducted in April 2013. A total of 8,530 mosquitoes were collected, using carbon dioxide-baited encephalitis virus surveillance traps, and the predominant species were Aedes normanensis, which was 74.2% of the mosquitoes collected, and Anopheles annulipes (11.1%), An. amictus (2.9%), and An. meraukensis (2.4%). The mean number of mosquitoes collected was 120.1 ± 13.7 per trap in the 71 traps placed. This study has shown mosquito abundance in the eastern area of BFTA during 2 wk of April 2013 was of high density, and therefore a heightened risk of arbovirus transmission. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and virus isolation identified a single Barmah Forest virus strain from a pool of Ae. normanensis, a positive rate of 1/174 (0.57%). This study has provided the 1st survey of mosquitoes and potential mosquito-borne virus transmission in BFTA.

Keywords: Aedes normanensis; Anopheles; Barmah Forest virus; Bradshaw Field Training Area; Northern Territory.