Why it’s important
For some, mosquitoes are merely an annoyance. For others, they can be a source of fear. That’s because mosquitoes are vectors for debilitating diseases like malaria, yellow fever, West Nile, Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. The presentation and severity of mosquito-borne diseases can vary depending on the infectious agent, ranging from no symptoms to nonspecific symptoms like fever, muscle pain, joint pain, rash, and headache to more serious complications like encephalitis, meningitis, hemorrhagic syndrome, and death.4,5
Currently, there are no antiviral treatment options for many of the viruses transmitted by mosquitoes; management of the disease is limited to supportive care to control fever and pain.6 In contrast, mosquito-borne parasitic infections like malaria can be treated with medication; however, the emergence and spread of drug resistance threatens the ability to treat the disease.7 Detection and surveillance of these diseases is therefore essential for controlling transmission and providing care.
How we can help
As a leading developer and supplier of authenticated biological materials, ATCC offers a variety of live strains, genomic and synthetic nucleic acids, and monoclonal antibodies that support the development and validation of novel diagnostic tools for vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and other arthropods like ticks, kissing bugs, sand flies, tsetse flies, fleas, lice, gnats, and mites. We are also working to provide the reference-quality, whole-genome sequencing data for these strains on the ATCC Genome Portal.
Explore our resources for the following mosquito-borne viruses and parasites:
Did you know?
ATCC offers over 330 strains and 55 nucleic acid preparations that support vector-borne disease research and diagnostics development.
Meet the author
Cara Wilder, PhD, ELS
Senior Scientific Writer, ATCC
Dr. Wilder is a Senior Scientific Writer at ATCC. She has a PhD in Microbiology with background experience working with several pathogenic bacterial species in both in vitro and in vivo environments. Dr. Wilder is the author of numerous publications on varying topics of scientific relevance, including quality control, microbial contamination, assay development, proficiency testing, and multidrug resistance.
Explore our resources for mosquito-borne diseases
White paper
Synthetic Nucleic Acids for the Development and Evaluation of In Vitro Diagnostic Devices
In this white paper, we discuss the co-circulation and potential co-infection of the mosquito-borne Dengue (DENV), Chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika (ZIKV) viruses; the challenges associated with the identification and discernment of these viruses; and the need for authenticated control materials for the validation of in vitro diagnostic tools.
More
Application note
Development and Use of Synthetic Molecular Standards for Dengue Virus Serotypes 1-4
ATCC has developed 4 quantitated synthetic molecular standards for Dengue virus (DENV) serotypes 1-4 for use as positive controls in qRT-PCR assays. Read this study to explore the development and application of these molecular standards.
More
Webinar
Building a Zika virus vaccine: From global health to virus–like particle technology
Currently, there are no vaccines approved for use in the prevention of Zika. In this webinar, we discuss the development of several novel Zika virus-like particle (Zika-VLP)–based vaccine candidates and will provide data demonstrating their ability to induce a strong immune response and provide a high level of protection against Zika virus in murine animal models.
MoreReferences
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fighting the World’s Deadliest Animal. Accessed online June 2023 <https://www.cdc.gov/global-health/impact/fighting-the-worlds-deadliest-animal.html>.
- American Mosquito Control Association. Mosquito-borne Diseases. Accessed online June 2023 <https://www.mosquito.org/page/diseases>.
- Qureshi AI. Mosquito-Borne Diseases. In: Zika Virus Disease. Academic Press; 2018: 27-45.
- Piantadosi A, Kanijilal S. Diagnostic approach for arboviral infections in the United States. J Clin Microbiol 58(12): e01926-19, 2020. PubMed: 32938736
- World Mosquito Program. Mosquito-borne diseases. Accessed online June 2023 <https://www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/en/learn/mosquito-borne-diseases>.
- Mangat R, Louie T. Arbovirus Encephalitides. [Updated 2023 Feb 19]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560866/
- Philips RS. Current Status of Malaria and Potential for Control. Clin Microbiol Rev 14(1): 208-226, 2001. PubMed: 11148010
