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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #312738
Research Project: Biting Arthropod Surveillance and Control

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Mosquitoes and the environment in Nile Delta villages with previous rift valley fever activity

Author
item ZAYED, ABDELBASET - Al-Azhar University
item Gibson, Seth
item SOLIMAN, MOHAMED - Ministry Of Health
item Linthicum, Kenneth - Ken

Submitted to: Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2015
Publication Date: 7/6/2015
Citation: Zayed, A.B., Britch, S.C., Soliman, M.I., Linthicum, K. 2015. Mosquitoes and the environment in Nile Delta villages with previous rift valley fever activity. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 31(2):139-148.

Interpretive Summary: This study was conducted to develop an understanding of environmental conditions that may affect mosquito species that transmit Rift Valley fever virus to humans and animals in the Nile Delta region of Egypt. We found that changes in the environment, in particular changes that accompany periods of flooding in this region, may affect populations of key mosquito species in predictable ways. With this information, and information from future similar studies, we can begin to build predictive models that could help us target disease surveillance and disease prevention strategies in the region, thus better protecting human and animal health. By better protecting this region from Rift Valley fever virus, we can reduce the risk of movement of this pathogen to the U.S.

Technical Abstract: Egypt is affected by serious human and animal mosquito-borne diseases such as Rift Valley fever (RVF). We investigated how potential RVF virus mosquito vector populations are affected by environmental conditions in the Nile Delta region of Egypt by collecting mosquitoes and environmental data from three key governorates before and after 2012 seasonal flooding. We found that environmental effects varied among species, life stages, pre- and post-flood groupings, and geographic populations of the same species, and that mosquito community composition could change after flooding. Our study provides preliminary data for modeling mosquitoes and mosquito borne diseases in the Nile Delta region.