Open AccessHigh diversity of mosquito vectors in Cambodian primary schools and consequences for arbovirus transmission
Author(s) -
Sébastien Boyer,
Sébastien Marcombe,
Sony Yean,
Didier Fontenille
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0233669
Subject(s) - dengue fever , arbovirus , vector (molecular biology) , anopheles , transmission (telecommunications) , malaria , culex , biology , japanese encephalitis , culex quinquefasciatus , aedes , relative species abundance , arbovirus infections , abundance (ecology) , geography , environmental health , encephalitis , ecology , virology , aedes aegypti , medicine , virus , immunology , larva , biochemistry , engineering , electrical engineering , gene , recombinant dna
Only few data exist in Cambodia on mosquito diversity and their potential role as vectors. Many arboviruses, such as dengue and Japanese encephalitis, are endemic and mostly affect children in the country. This research sets out to evaluate vector relative abundance and diversity in primary schools in Cambodia in an attempt to explain the apparent burden of dengue fever, severe dengue (DEN), Japanese encephalitis (JE), other arboviral diseases and malaria among children, 15 years and under, attending selected primary schools through vector surveys. Entomological surveys were implemented in primary schools in two provinces of Cambodia to assess the potential risk of exposure of schoolchildren to mosquito vector species. Light traps and BG traps were used to collect adult mosquitoes in 24 schools during the rainy and dry seasons of 2017 and 2018 in Kampong Cham and Tboung Khmum provinces. A total of 61 species were described, including Aedes , Culex and Anopheles species. The relative abundance and biodiversity of mosquito species were dependent on the month and school. Of the 37,725 mosquitoes caught during the study, three species accounted for three-quarters of the relative abundance: Culex vishnui , Anopheles indefinitus and Culex quinquefasciatus . More importantly, nearly 90% of the mosquitoes caught in the schools were identified as potential vectors of pathogens including Japanese encephalitis, dengue, and malaria parasites. Our results showed that schools in Cambodia represent a risk for vector-borne disease transmission and highlight the importance of implementing vector control in schools in Cambodia to decrease the risk of transmission.