New records of California serogroup viruses in Aedes mosquitoes and first detection in simulioidae flies from Northern Canada and Alaska

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Villeneuve, Carol-Anne, Buhler, Kayla, Iranpour, Mahmood, Avard, Ellen, Dibernardo, Antonia, Fenton, Heather, Hansen, Cristina, Gouin, Géraldine-G., Loseto, Lisa, Jenkins, Emily, Lindsay, Leslie Robbin, Dusfour, Isabelle, Lecomte, Nicolas, Leighton, Patrick
• Other Authors: Université de Montréal (UdeM), Université de Moncton, Département de Santé Globale - Department Global Health, Institut Pasteur Paris, University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon (U of S), Public Health Agency of Canada, Société Makivik - Makivik Corporation Kuujjuaq, Canada, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine Basseterre, Canada, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), This study was carried out through the Canadian Arctic One Health Network (CAOHN), with funding from ArcticNet (Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada), Polar Knowledge Canada (POLAR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: Mosquitoes; Biting insects; California serogroup viruses; Arctic; Vector-borne; envir; geo; Cambridge Bay; Canada; Fairbanks; Igloolik; Karrak Lake; Kuujjuaq; Northwest Territories; Nunavik; Nunavut; Yellowknife; Polar Biology; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02921-5; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03371913/file/2021.03.22.433603v1.full.pdf; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03371913

International audience An expected consequence of climate warming is an expansion of the geographical distribution of biting insects and associated arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). Emerging and re-emerging arboviruses that can affect human and animal health are likely to pose significant consequences for Northern communities where access to health resources is limited. In the North American Arctic, little is known about arboviruses. Thus, in 2019, we sampled biting insects in Nunavik, Northern Québec (Kuujjuaq), Nunavut (Igloolik, Karrak Lake and Cambridge Bay), Northwest Territories (Igloolik and Yellowknife) and Alaska (Fairbanks). The main objective was to detect the presence of California serogroup (CSG) viruses– a widespread group of arboviruses across North America and that are known to cause a wide range of symptoms, ranging from mild febrile illness to fatal encephalitis. Biting insects were captured twice daily for a 7-day period in mid-summer, using a standardised protocol consisting of 100 figure-eight movements of a sweep net. Captured specimens were separated by genus (mosquitoes) or by superfamily (other insects) and then grouped into pools of 75 by geographical locations. In total, 5079 Aedes mosquitoes and 1014 Simulioidae flies were caught. We report the detection of CSG viruses RNA in mosquitoes captured in Nunavut (Karrak Lake) and Nunavik (Kuujjuaq). We also report, for the first time in North America, the presence of CSG viruses RNA in Simulioidae flies. These results highlight the use of biting insects for tracking any future emergence of arboviruses in the North, thereby providing key information for public health in Northern communities.