PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (2013) 7 (1 - e2007)

David P. Tchouassi, Rosemary Sang, Catherine L. Sole, Armanda D.S. Bastos, Peter E.A. Teal, Christian Borgemeister and Baldwyn Torto (2013)
Common host-derived chemicals increase catches of disease-transmitting mosquitoes and can improve early warning systems for Rift Valley Fever virus
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 7 (1 - e2007)
Abstract: Rift Valley fever (RVF), a mosquito-borne zoonosis, is a major public health and veterinary problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Surveillance to monitor mosquito populations during the inter-epidemic period (IEP) and viral activity in these vectors is critical to informing public health decisions for early warning and control of the disease. Using a combination of field bioassays, electrophysiological and chemical analyses we demonstrated that skin-derived aldehydes (heptanal, octanal, nonanal, decanal) common to RVF virus (RVFV) hosts including sheep, cow, donkey, goat and human serve as potent attractants for RVFV mosquito vectors. Furthermore, a blend formulated from the four aldehydes and combined with CO₂-baited CDC trap without a light bulb doubled to tripled trap captures compared to control traps baited with CO₂ alone. Our results reveal that (a) because of the commonality of the host chemical signature required for attraction, the host-vector interaction appears to favor the mosquito vector allowing it to find and opportunistically feed on a wide range of mammalian hosts of the disease, and (b) the sensitivity, specificity and superiority of this trapping system offers the potential for its wider use in surveillance programs for RVFV mosquito vectors especially during the IEP.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Christian Borgemeister, Baldwyn Torto

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
pheromones/attractants/traps

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Culex pipiens		Kenya
	Culex bitaeniorhynchus		Kenya
	Aedes mcintoshi		Kenya
	Culex univittatus		Kenya
	Culex poicilipes		Kenya
	Aedes ochraceus		Kenya