Risk of Arboviral Transmission and Insecticide Resistance Status of Aedes Mosquitoes during a Yellow Fever Outbreak in Ghana

TL;DR

This study examines Aedes mosquitoes in Ghana during a Yellow Fever outbreak, assessing their role in disease transmission and resistance to insecticides.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into Aedes mosquito bionomics and insecticide resistance in outbreak and non-outbreak areas in Ghana.

Findings

Aedes aegypti was the predominant vector species, with high abundance during the dry season and outdoors.

Moderate to high resistance to deltamethrin was observed in all sites, while Larabanga mosquitoes were susceptible to permethrin.

Outbreak sites had significantly higher frequencies of kdr alleles F1534C and V1016I compared to non-outbreak sites.

Abstract

In late 2021, Ghana was hit by a Yellow Fever outbreak that started in two (2) districts in the Savannah region and spread to several other Districts in (3) regions (Oti, Bono and Upper West).

Yellow fever is endemic in Ghana. However, there is currently no structured vector control programme for the yellow vector, Aedes mosquitoes in Ghana. Knowledge of Aedes bionomics and insecticide susceptibility status is important to control the vectors. This study therefore sought todetermine Aedes vector bionomics and their insecticide resistance status during a yellow fever outbreak.

The study was performed in two yellow fever outbreak sites (Wenchi, Larabanga) and two non-outbreak sites (Kpalsogu, Pagaza) in Ghana. Immature Aedes mosquitoes were sampled from water-holding containers in and around human habitations. The risk of disease transmission was determined in each site using stegomyia indices. Adult Aedes mosquitoes were sampled using Biogents Sentinel (BG) traps, Human Landing Catch (HLC), and Prokopack (PPK) aspirators. Phenotypic resistance was determined with WHO susceptibility tests using Aedes mosquitoes collected as larvae and reared into adults. Knockdown resistance (kdr) mutations were detected using allele-specific multiplex PCR.

Of the 2,664 immature Aedes sampled, more than 60% were found in car tyres. Larabanga, an outbreak site, was classified as a high-risk zone for the Yellow Fever outbreak (BI: 84%, CI: 26.4%). Out of 1,507 adult Aedes mosquitoes collected, Aedes aegypti was the predominant vector species (92%). A significantly high abundance of Aedes mosquitoes was observed during the dry season (61.2%) and outdoors (60.6%) (P < 0.001). Moderate to high resistance to deltamethrin was observed in all sites (33.75% to 70%). Moderate resistance to pirimiphos-methyl (65%) was observed in Kpalsogu. Aedesmosquitoes from Larabanga were susceptible (98%) to permethrin. The F1534C kdr, V1016I kdr and V410 kdr alleles were present in all the sites with frequencies between (0.05–0.92). The outbreak sites had significantly higher allele frequencies of F1534C and V1016I respectively compared to non-outbreak sites (P < 0.001).

This study indicates that Aedes mosquitoes in Ghana pose a significant risk to public health, and there is a need for continuous surveillance to inform effective vector control strategies.

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