Impact of weather variables on mosquitoes infected with Japanese encephalitis virus in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh

摘要

ABSTRACT Objective:To assess the virus infection in mosquitoes during different seasons and correlated with various climatic factors.Methods:The field collected vectors were screened for Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus after dessication usingELISAmethod. Most of the positive pools were recorded fromCulex tritaeniorhynchus (Cx. tritaeniorhynchus) andCulex.gelidus(Cx. gelidus) duringJE transmission season (winter) and some positive pools were also reported during nonJE transmission periods (i.e. summer and rainy seasons).Results: The minimum infection rates(MIR) of1.75 fromCx. tritaeniorhynchus and0.17fromCx. gelidus has been reported in the year2002 at the beginning of the study and the values were found nil at the end of the study(2006) from the study areas of Kurnool district.Conclusions:From this study it is noted thatMIR ofCx. gelidus andCx. tritaeniorhynchus were modulated by various meteorological parameters. The mosquito vector abundance increases after the monsoon period (winter) and lowest in dry season (summer). Similarly,MIR fluctuated between seasons with higherMIR recorded after monsoon period and lower in the rest of season. Impact of these metrological parameters in JE virus infected mosquitoes is discussed in this paper.