Eco-epidemiology of Yellow Fever in the Northeast of Argentina

MANTECA ACOSTA M; LIZUAIN ARTURO; MUTTIS, E; ACARDI, S; SANCHEZ-GAVIER, F; MARTI G. A; MICIELI M.V; KOWALESWKI M

La Plata

Congreso; II Congreso Latinoamericano de Ecología de Vectores (LA SOVE); 2022

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During 2020-2021 there were several yellow fever (YF) epizootic events in southern Brazil, close to the Argentina border. Corrientes province, which limits to the east with Brazil, lacked a plan to take actions when YF howler monkey cases were reported in Brazil, then we decided to carry out integrated actions considering all scientific-technical components regarding to this disease. We put together an interdisciplinary team including the CeNDIE-ANLIS Malbrán, EBCo-CECOAL-CONICET, CEPAVE-CONICET, IUCS Fundación H.A. Barceló, and the Directorate of Control of Diseases Transmitted by Vectors. The following actions were carried out: 1) surveys and monitoring of the remaining populations of black and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) to verify their presence/absence in areas where they suffered a YF outbreak in 2009; 2) update of the early warning community network against YF outbreaks using howler monkey groups presence as YF sentinels, 3) YF vector sampling in wild and rural environments to determine the specific composition of culicids that share habitat with howler monkeys. A team of 10 people visited several sites including forests from April 5 to 10, 2021. Although groups of monkeys or evidence of them were found in most of the sites selected in this survey, their density was extremely low compared to the populations located along the Paraná River, confirming the critical situation of this species in NE Corrientes. We did reinforce, together with the Vector Directorate of the Province of Corrientes, the early warning community network, identifying and adding new referents, and re-linking with those previously contacted. Regarding the mosquito community, 18 species of 8 different genera were collected. Among them, Aedes aegypti and Haemagogus leucocelaenus are main vectors in America of the YF virus in the urban and jungle cycle, respectively. Other species involved or potentially involved in the jungle cycle were: Sabethes albiprivus, Sa. identicus, Ae. scapularis, Ae. serratus, Mansonia indubitans, Psorophora albipes, and Ps. ferox. We suggest the promotion of long-term monitoring of groups of howlers in the area and mosquito vectors in their roosts, the formalization of the early warning community network, implementing non-formal education workshops in schools and similar institutions to call attention to the situation of black and gold howler monkeys,their role as sentinels of public health, and the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems.