Dengue-2 and Guadeloupe Mosquito Virus RNA Detected in Aedes (Stegomyia) spp. Collected in a Vehicle Impound Yard in Santo Andre, SP, Brazil

Simple Summary We screened Aedes mosquitoes in an urban area in southeastern Brazil for emerging arboviruses using RT-PCR assays and sequencing. We detected DENV-2 RNA in Aedes albopictus and Guadeloupe mosquito virus RNA in Aedes aegypti. In 2018-2019, we conducted mosquito collections in a municipal vehicle impound yard, which is 10 km from the Serra do Mar Environmental Protection Area in Santo Andre, SP, Brazil. Our aim is to study arboviruses in the impound yard, to understand the transmission of arboviruses in an urban environment in Brazil. We captured the mosquitoes using human-landing catches and processed them for arbovirus detection by conventional and quantitative RT-PCR assays. We captured two mosquito species, Aedes aegypti (73 total specimens; 18 females and 55 males) and Ae. albopictus (34 specimens; 27 females and 7 males). The minimum infection rate for DENV-2 was 11.5 per 1000 (CI95%: 1-33.9). The detection of DENV-2 RNA in an Ae. albopictus female suggests that this virus might occur in high infection rates in the sampled mosquito population and is endemic in the urban areas of Santo Andre. In addition, Guadeloupe mosquito virus RNA was detected in an Ae. aegypti female. To our knowledge, this was the first detection of the Guadeloupe mosquito virus in Brazil.

Automated summary

The study screened Aedes mosquitoes in an urban area in southeastern Brazil and detected DENV-2 RNA in Aedes albopictus and Guadeloupe mosquito virus RNA in Aedes aegypti. The findings suggest that DENV-2 may have high infection rates and be endemic in the urban areas of Santo Andre, Brazil.