Use of an Aedes Salivary Biomarker to Assess Arboviral disease Transmission Risk in Northern Tanzania (SABIOT)

Aedes mosquitoes are the most threatening disease vectors worldwide. Among the most important arbovirus such as dengue, Zika, Yellow fever and Chikungunya can cause a serious broad spectrum of manifestation such as hemorrhagic fever, Shock syndrome, chronic joint pain, microcephaly and multi-system failure. In absence of effective treatment and vaccine, vector control remains to be effective measure to prevent the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases which can be achieved through management of breeding sites, indoor residual spraying and to conduct extensive surveillance of these mosquito populations to estimate risk of transmission. However, these methods are time consuming, expensive and labor intensive, hence it is difficult to apply on large scales. To increase the efficacy of vector control programs, a new epidemiological methodology has been documented. This methodology can reliably measure arboviral transmission dynamics that will enable more accurate and useful predictions of outbreaks. This method can be used to identify areas of risk for Aedes-borne diseases and evaluate vector control interventions. A cross sectional study is designed to assess the usefulness of the salivary biomarker for measuring human exposure to Aedes bites and evaluate the efficacy of Aedes control strategies in Northern Tanzania. Participants will be recruited during the end of rainy season. Participants will be followed longitudinally to screen for Aedes mosquito exposure by quantifying IgG antibody response against Aedes salivary gland peptides. These data will uncover the risk of arboviral transmission in Tanzania. Data generated will provide an early warning of increased risk of transmission of arboviral disease and early warning signs of outbreaks. More importantly, assist health authorities and policy-makers to better plan for and timely interventions. Hypothesis: The level of IgG Ab response to Aedes salivary proteins is associated to human exposure to vector bites and is consequently related to the risk of dengue, zika and chikungunya transmission in Northern Tanzania.