Solomon Mwakasungula
Using haematophagous fly blood meals to study the diversity of blood‐borne pathogens infecting wild mammals
Mwakasungula, Solomon; Rougeron, Virginie; Arnathau, Céline; Boundenga, Larson; Miguel, Eve; Boissière, Anne; Jiolle, Davy; Durand, Patrick; Msigwa, Alphonce; Mswata, Sarah; Olotu, Ally; Sterkers, Yvon; Roche, Benjamin; Killeen, Gerard; Cerqueira, Frédérique; Bitome‐Essono, Paul Yannick; Bretagnolle, François; Masanja, Honorati; Paupy, Christophe; Sumaye, Robert; Prugnolle, Franck
Authors
Virginie Rougeron
Céline Arnathau
Larson Boundenga
Eve Miguel
Anne Boissière
Davy Jiolle
Patrick Durand
Alphonce Msigwa
Sarah Mswata
Ally Olotu
Yvon Sterkers
Benjamin Roche
Gerard Killeen
Frédérique Cerqueira
Paul Yannick Bitome‐Essono
François Bretagnolle
Honorati Masanja
Christophe Paupy
Robert Sumaye
Franck Prugnolle
Abstract
Many emerging infectious diseases originate from wild animals, so there is a profound need for surveillance and monitoring of their pathogens. However, the practical difficulty of sample acquisition from wild animals tends to limit the feasibility and effectiveness of such surveys. Xenosurveillance, using blood-feeding invertebrates to obtain tissue samples from wild animals and then detect their pathogens, is a promising method to do so. Here, we describe the use of tsetse fly blood meals to determine (directly through molecular diagnostic and indirectly through serology), the diversity of circulating blood-borne pathogens (including bacteria, viruses and protozoa) in a natural mammalian community of Tanzania. Molecular analyses of captured tsetse flies (182 pools of flies totalizing 1728 flies) revealed that the blood meals obtained came from 18 different vertebrate species including 16 non-human mammals, representing approximately 25% of the large mammal species present in the study area. Molecular diagnostic demonstrated the presence of different protozoa parasites and bacteria of medical and/or veterinary interest. None of the six virus species searched for by molecular methods were detected but an ELISA test detected antibodies against African swine fever virus among warthogs, indicating that the virus had been circulating in the area. Sampling of blood-feeding insects represents an efficient and practical approach to tracking a diversity of pathogens from multiple mammalian species, directly through molecular diagnostic or indirectly through serology, which could readily expand and enhance our understanding of the ecology and evolution of infectious agents and their interactions with their hosts in wild animal communities.
Citation
Mwakasungula, S., Rougeron, V., Arnathau, C., Boundenga, L., Miguel, E., Boissière, A., …Prugnolle, F. (2022). Using haematophagous fly blood meals to study the diversity of blood‐borne pathogens infecting wild mammals. Molecular Ecology Resources, 22(8), 2915-2927. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13670
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | May 17, 2022 |
Online Publication Date | Jul 25, 2022 |
Publication Date | 2022-11 |
Deposit Date | Sep 2, 2022 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 15, 2023 |
Journal | Molecular Ecology Resources |
Print ISSN | 1755-098X |
Electronic ISSN | 1755-0998 |
Publisher | Wiley |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 22 |
Issue | 8 |
Pages | 2915-2927 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13670 |
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Copyright Statement
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
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