A Review: Aedes-Borne Arboviral Infections, Controls and Wolbachia-Based Strategies

Abstract

Arthropod-borne viruses (Arboviruses) continue to generate significant health and economic burdens for people living in endemic regions. Of these viruses, some of the most important (e.g., dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever virus), are transmitted mainly by Aedes mosquitoes. Over the years, viral infection control has targeted vector population reduction and inhibition of arboviral replication and transmission. This control includes the vector control methods which are classified into chemical, environmental, and biological methods. Some of these control methods may be largely experimental (both field and laboratory investigations) or widely practised. Perceptively, one of the biological methods of vector control, in particular, Wolbachia-based control, shows a promising control strategy for eradicating Aedes-borne arboviruses. This can either be through the artificial introduction of Wolbachia, a naturally present bacterium that impedes viral growth in mosquitoes into heterologous Aedes aegypti mosquito vectors (vectors that are not natural hosts of Wolbachia) thereby limiting arboviral transmission or via Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which naturally harbour Wolbachia infection. These strategies are potentially undermined by the tendency of mosquitoes to lose Wolbachia infection in unfavourable weather conditions (e.g., high temperature) and the inhibitory competitive dynamics among co-circulating Wolbachia strains. The main objective of this review was to critically appraise published articles on vector control strategies and specifically highlight the use of Wolbachia-based control to suppress vector population growth or disrupt viral transmission. We retrieved studies on the control strategies for arboviral transmissions via arthropod vectors and discussed the use of Wolbachia control strategies for eradicating arboviral diseases to identify literature gaps that will be instrumental in developing models to estimate the impact of these control strategies and, in essence, the use of different Wolbachia strains and features.

Blood glucose promotes dengue virus infection in the mosquito Aedes aegypti

“…Altogether, these diseases kill more than 1 million people annually, and more than 2 billion people are at risk worldwide [ 1 ]. Major reasons for this tragic situation are the unavailability of effective vaccines and drugs for most mosquito-borne diseases, increased resistance to insecticides in mosquitoes, and resistance of pathogens to currently available drugs [ 2 ].…”

“…The essential components of infectious viral particles are viral genome and viral structural proteins (envelope protein [E], membrane protein [M], and capsid protein [C]). A current estimate suggests that more than 390 million DENV infections occur annually [ 1 , 2 ]. DENV infection causes several disease manifestations, ranging from undifferentiated fever and dengue fever to life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS) [ 1 , 3 , 4 ].…”

Aedes aegypti: egg morphology and embryonic development

“…aegypti), in addition to its anthropophilia and good adaptation to the urban environment, the context of climate change, and the process of accelerated urbanization, substandard housing policies, and urban infrastructure. These aspects can promote a favorable ambiance to the mosquito life cycle [9,10] and act as obstacles to prevention measures and effective control with available resources [7,11].…”

Unraveling mosquito metabolism with mass spectrometry-based metabolomics

“…aegypti or naturally Wolbachia-infected Ae. albopictus is one of the approaches proposed to either suppress mosquito populations or disrupt viral transmissions [57]. In recent years, a metabolomics approach has been applied to study Wolbachiaan intracellular bacterial symbiontin infected mosquito cells and the impact of antiviral effects in mosquitoes artificially infected with Wolbachia.…”