A joint investigation led by teams from the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) and the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) has identified, for the first time in Spain, the presence of the Sindbis virus in mosquitoes in the southwest of the country; a microorganism that circulates mainly among birds and can sometimes affect humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.
Symptoms
According to explained the ISCIII this Friday in a statementandIf the infection occurs in humans, it usually occurs without symptoms, although sometimes it can cause fever, skin irritations, joint pain and/or headache. causing outbreaks of fever in people, as has been observed in South Africa and northern Europe.
For the research, 31,920 mosquitoes have been analyzed, grouped in 1,149 batches, captured in 2022 in western Andalusia. The scientists detected Sindbis in 137 of these batches (11.92%) and in five different mosquito species, with the Culex perexiguus species having the highest infection rate.
Location
The study, whose results have been published in ‘One Health’, has detected the virus in different locations in the provinces of Málaga, Seville, Huelva and Cádiz, highlighting the latter with the highest infection rate.
The genomic analysis of the strains detected in Spain has revealed that all They belong to genotype I, previously detected in other areas of Europe and Africa. These strains showed low genetic variation and were closely related to others from Algeria and Kenya, suggesting that The virus was introduced into Spain by migratory birds from central or northern Africa..
This discovery has been possible thanks to the collaboration of the ISCIII and the CSIC with the Program for Surveillance and Control of West Nile virus in Vectors of the Government of Andalusia, and highlights the importance of surveillance programs in the early detection of emerging pathogens. The authors have pointed out that more studies are needed to continue determining the importance of this virus for public health in Spain.
In this regard, researchers Ana Vázquez and Rafael Gutiérrez, from the CNM-ISCIII, have highlighted that, based on this discovery, It will be possible to investigate whether this virus is causing infections in humansas well as using the knowledge acquired to improve the differential diagnosis with other arboviruses.
“The study demonstrates the circulation of a virus with potential public health importance long before human cases have been detected, so it is very important to know the possible expansion of this virus in Spain and establish the real impact it may have on the health of the population,” added scientists María José Ruiz López and Jordi Figuerola, from the Doñana-CSIC Biological Station.
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