TY - JOUR
T1 - The transmission ecology of Tahyna orthobunyavirus in Austria as revealed by longitudinal mosquito sampling and blood meal analysis in floodplain habitats
AU - Camp, Jeremy V.
AU - Kniha, Edwin
AU - Obwaller, Adelheid G.
AU - Walochnik, Julia
AU - Nowotny, Norbert
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Pia Weidinger and Fareed Rafi (University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna) for assistance with sample processing. We thank Dr. Christian Baumgartner and his team at the Nationalpark Donau-Auen, as well as DI Michael Stelzhammer and Mag. Norbert Helm at the WWF conservation site in Marchegg for their help in facilitating the study. Vice Lieutenant Mueller from the military command Bruckneudorf (Benedek-Kaserne) provided excellent cooperation during field work. We are grateful to Tam?s Bakonyi (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) for scientific advice and assistance with primer design.
Funding Information:
Open Access funding for this article was provided by the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Vetmeduni Vienna). This study was supported by a Postdoctoral Research Program fellowship awarded to JVC by the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna. Edwin Kniha is a recipient of a DOC Fellowship and is funded by the Austrian Academy of Science.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Background: Tahyna orthobunyavirus (TAHV) is a mosquito-borne virus that may cause mild flu-like symptoms or neurological symptoms in humans. It is historically associated with floodplain habitats in Central Europe, and the mammalophilic floodwater mosquito, Aedes vexans, is thought to be the principal vector. There are few contemporary reports of TAHV transmission ecology within mosquitoes or their vertebrate hosts, and virus infections are rarely reported (and probably seldom diagnosed). The objectives of this study were to survey the mosquito population for TAHV in three floodwater habitats and describe host usage by the predominant floodwater mosquito species to potentially define TAHV transmission at these foci. Methods: We performed longitudinal mosquito sampling along three major rivers in eastern Austria to characterize the mosquito community in floodplain habitats, and tested for the presence of TAHV in pools of mosquitoes. We characterized TAHV rescued from mosquito pool homogenate by sequencing. We surveyed mosquito host selection by analyzing mosquito blood meals. Results: We identified TAHV in two pools of Ae. vexans captured along the Leitha River. This mosquito, and other floodwater mosquitoes, used large mammals (red deer, roe deer, wild boar) as their hosts. The sequence of the rescued virus was remarkably similar to other TAHV isolates from the region, dating back to the first isolate of TAHV in 1958. Conclusions: In general, we confirmed that TAHV is most likely being transmitted by Ae. vexans, although the precise contribution of vertebrate-amplifying hosts to the ecological maintenance of the virus is unclear. The pattern of host selection matches the estimated exposure of the same large mammal species in the region to TAHV based on a recent serosurvey, but hares were also hosts at the site where TAHV was detected. We also confirm humans as hosts of two floodwater mosquito species, providing a potential mechanism for spillover of TAHV or other mosquito-borne viruses. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
AB - Background: Tahyna orthobunyavirus (TAHV) is a mosquito-borne virus that may cause mild flu-like symptoms or neurological symptoms in humans. It is historically associated with floodplain habitats in Central Europe, and the mammalophilic floodwater mosquito, Aedes vexans, is thought to be the principal vector. There are few contemporary reports of TAHV transmission ecology within mosquitoes or their vertebrate hosts, and virus infections are rarely reported (and probably seldom diagnosed). The objectives of this study were to survey the mosquito population for TAHV in three floodwater habitats and describe host usage by the predominant floodwater mosquito species to potentially define TAHV transmission at these foci. Methods: We performed longitudinal mosquito sampling along three major rivers in eastern Austria to characterize the mosquito community in floodplain habitats, and tested for the presence of TAHV in pools of mosquitoes. We characterized TAHV rescued from mosquito pool homogenate by sequencing. We surveyed mosquito host selection by analyzing mosquito blood meals. Results: We identified TAHV in two pools of Ae. vexans captured along the Leitha River. This mosquito, and other floodwater mosquitoes, used large mammals (red deer, roe deer, wild boar) as their hosts. The sequence of the rescued virus was remarkably similar to other TAHV isolates from the region, dating back to the first isolate of TAHV in 1958. Conclusions: In general, we confirmed that TAHV is most likely being transmitted by Ae. vexans, although the precise contribution of vertebrate-amplifying hosts to the ecological maintenance of the virus is unclear. The pattern of host selection matches the estimated exposure of the same large mammal species in the region to TAHV based on a recent serosurvey, but hares were also hosts at the site where TAHV was detected. We also confirm humans as hosts of two floodwater mosquito species, providing a potential mechanism for spillover of TAHV or other mosquito-borne viruses. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
KW - Arbovirus
KW - Austria
KW - Blood meal analysis
KW - Mosquito
KW - Orthobunyavirus
KW - Transmission ecology
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U2 - 10.1186/s13071-021-05061-1
DO - 10.1186/s13071-021-05061-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 34717742
AN - SCOPUS:85118312218
VL - 14
JO - Parasites and Vectors
JF - Parasites and Vectors
SN - 1756-3305
IS - 1
M1 - 561
ER -