Assessing the risk of mosquito vector-borne diseases in Scotland and their response to environmental change

评估苏格兰蚊媒传播疾病的风险及其对环境变化的反应

• 批准号: BB/X018113/1
• 负责人: Heather Ferguson
• 金额: $ 127.92万
• 依托单位: University of Glasgow
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FX018113%2F1
• 关键词: Assessing; risk; mosquito; vector; borne

Mosquitoes are the most important source of vector-borne diseases (VBDs) globally on account of their role in transmitting high burden human diseases like malaria and dengue. They are also responsible for the spread of pathogens from wildlife and livestock to humans ("zoonotic diseases"). While the burden of mosquito VBDs is highest in tropical areas, climate and other environmental changes are driving the expansion of mosquitoes and their pathogens into temperate regions of Europe including the UK. Birds are probably the most important source of emerging mosquito VBDs in Europe (e.g West Nile (WNV) and Usutu viruses (USUV),and have potential to introduce pathogens into the UK during migration. Ability to detect and respond to mosquito VBD emergence in the UK is however hampered by major gaps in national surveillance. Current surveillance is restricted almost entirely to England and Wales; with a near complete absence of data from Scotland. Given Scotland constitutes almost a third of the UK land mass, this gap creates a major vulnerability in national VBD detection and response strategy. We propose to address this here by conducting a comprehensive investigation of mosquitoes and bird populations across Scotland, and assessing their potential for VBD transmission under current and future environmental conditions. First we will conduct mosquito trapping in a range of wetland habitats across Scotland to characterize the distribution, abundance and ecology of potential vector species. We will also collect mosquitoes in a range of urban and rural settings to assess what potential vector species are most likely to be present where people and bird populations overlap. Second, we will take blood samples from wild birds in areas where mosquitoes are being collected to test for pathogens. Bird blood and mosquito samples will be analyzed using a novel molecular method that can test for the presence of up to 80 different pathogens in a single test. We will test samples for a range of VBDs including zoonotic pathogens that have been reported in England and other parts of Europe (e.g., WNV, USUV, Sindbis virus, Western Equine Encephalitis virus, Tahyna Virus), veterinary (avian Pox and avian malaria) and human pathogens (e.g., dengue, malaria, chikungunya virus). Third, we will collect Culex pipiens, one of the most important mosquito vector species in Europe, from sites across Scotland and assess their ability to transmit viruses in experimental infection studies conducted under controlled laboratory conditions. Finally, we will use the data collected above to develop models that predict where potential mosquito vector species and their pathogens are most likely to be found in Scotland under current and future climatic conditions. These models will be used to predict the likelihood of WNV and other zoonotic VBDs becoming established throughout the UK under current or future conditions. In combination, this research will considerably enhance national capacity to understand and mitigate the growing threats posed by VBDs throughout the UK. The project will also enable the establishment of a network and knowledge exchange between academia and government. This will provide a solid foundation for future collaboration on One Health Research and vector-borne disease research within and beyond Scotland.

蚊子是全球媒介传播疾病 (VBD) 最重要的来源，因为它们在传播疟疾和登革热等高负担人类疾病方面发挥着重要作用。它们还负责将病原体从野生动物和牲畜传播到人类（“人畜共患疾病”）。虽然蚊子 VBD 的负担在热带地区最高，但气候和其他环境变化正在推动蚊子及其病原体向包括英国在内的欧洲温带地区扩张。鸟类可能是欧洲新出现的蚊子 VBD（例如西尼罗河病毒 (WNV) 和乌苏图病毒 (USUV)）最重要的来源，并且有可能在迁徙过程中将病原体引入英国。能够检测和应对蚊子 VBD 的出现然而，英国因国家监控方面的重大缺陷而受到阻碍，目前的监控几乎完全局限于英格兰和威尔士；鉴于苏格兰几乎占英国领土的三分之一，这种缺陷造成了重大漏洞。在我们建议通过对苏格兰各地的蚊子和鸟类种群进行全面调查，并评估其在当前和未来环境条件下传播 VBD 的可能性来解决这一问题。苏格兰各地的湿地栖息地，以描述潜在病媒物种的分布、丰度和生态。我们还将在一系列城市和乡村环境中收集蚊子，以评估在人类和鸟类种群重叠的地方最有可能存在哪些潜在媒介物种。其次，我们将从蚊子聚集地区的野生鸟类身上采集血液样本，以检测病原体。将使用一种新颖的分子方法对鸟血和蚊子样本进行分析，该方法可以在一次测试中测试多达 80 种不同病原体的存在。我们将测试样品中的一系列VBD，包括英格兰和欧洲其他地区报告的人畜共患病原体（例如西尼罗河病毒、USUV、辛德比斯病毒、西部马脑炎病毒、塔海纳病毒）、兽医（禽痘和禽疟疾）和人类病原体（例如登革热、疟疾、基孔肯雅病毒）。第三，我们将从苏格兰各地收集淡色库蚊（欧洲最重要的蚊媒物种之一），并在受控实验室条件下进行实验性感染研究，评估其传播病毒的能力。最后，我们将利用上面收集的数据来开发模型，预测在当前和未来的气候条件下苏格兰最有可能发现潜在蚊子媒介物种及其病原体的地方。这些模型将用于预测在当前或未来条件下西尼罗河病毒和其他人畜共患VBD在英国各地建立的可能性。总而言之，这项研究将大大增强国家了解和减轻全英国 VBD 所构成的日益增长的威胁的能力。该项目还将促进学术界和政府之间建立网络和知识交流。这将为苏格兰内外的 One Health Research 和媒介传播疾病研究的未来合作奠定坚实的基础。