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. 2010 Aug;83(2 Suppl):28-37.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0319.

Rift Valley fever virus epidemic in Kenya, 2006/2007: the entomologic investigations

Rosemary Sang  1 , Elizabeth Kioko, Joel Lutomiah, Marion Warigia, Caroline Ochieng, Monica O'Guinn, John S Lee, Hellen Koka, Marvin Godsey, David Hoel, Hanafi Hanafi, Barry Miller, David Schnabel, Robert F Breiman, Jason Richardson
Affiliations

Rift Valley fever virus epidemic in Kenya, 2006/2007: the entomologic investigations

Rosemary Sang et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Aug.

Abstract

In December 2006, Rift Valley fever (RVF) was diagnosed in humans in Garissa Hospital, Kenya and an outbreak reported affecting 11 districts. Entomologic surveillance was performed in four districts to determine the epidemic/epizootic vectors of RVF virus (RVFV). Approximately 297,000 mosquitoes were collected, 164,626 identified to species, 72,058 sorted into 3,003 pools and tested for RVFV by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Seventy-seven pools representing 10 species tested positive for RVFV, including Aedes mcintoshi/circumluteolus (26 pools), Aedes ochraceus (23 pools), Mansonia uniformis (15 pools); Culex poicilipes, Culex bitaeniorhynchus (3 pools each); Anopheles squamosus, Mansonia africana (2 pools each); Culex quinquefasciatus, Culex univittatus, Aedes pembaensis (1 pool each). Positive Ae. pembaensis, Cx. univittatus, and Cx. bitaeniorhynchus was a first time observation. Species composition, densities, and infection varied among districts supporting hypothesis that different mosquito species serve as epizootic/epidemic vectors of RVFV in diverse ecologies, creating a complex epidemiologic pattern in East Africa.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: This manuscript is published with permission from the director, Kenya Medical Research Institute.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(A) Entomological investigation study sites for the Kenyan Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreak, 2006–2007. Positive collection site = collection sites with human RVF case reports. Negative collection sites = collections sites without human RVF case reports. (B) Detail of collection sites in and around Garissa District. (C) Detail of collection sites in Kilifi District. (D) Detail of collection sites in Baringo District.
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