Data from: Using zoos as sentinels for re-emerging arboviruses: Vector surveillance during an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease at the Minnesota Zoo

Vector-borne disease prevalence is increasing at a time when surveillance capacity in the United States is decreasing. One way to address this surveillance deficiency is to utilize established infrastructure, such as zoological parks, to investigate animal disease outbreaks and improve our epidemiological understanding of vector-borne pathogens. During fall 2020, an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) at the Minnesota Zoo resulted in morbidity and seroconversion of several collection animals. In response to this outbreak, insect surveillance was conducted, and the collected insects were tested for the presence of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) by RT-qPCR to better understand the local transmitting vector populations responsible for the outbreak. Six pools of Culicoides biting midges were positive for EHDV, including three pools of Culicoides sonorensis, two pools of Culicoides variipennis, and a pool of degraded C. variipennis complex midges. All three endemic serotypes of EHDV (1, 2, and 6) were detected in both animals and midge pools from the premises. Despite this outbreak, no EHDV cases had been reported in wild animals near the zoo. This highlights the importance and utility of using animal holding facilities, such as zoos, as sentinels to better understand the spatio-temporal dynamics of pathogen transmission.

虫媒传染病（vector-borne disease）的患病率持续攀升之际，美国的监测能力却在不断下降。解决这一监测缺口的可行路径之一，是依托动物园等现有成熟基础设施，开展动物疫病暴发调查，以深化对虫媒病原体的流行病学认知。2020年秋季，明尼苏达动物园暴发了兽类出血性疾病（epizootic hemorrhagic disease, EHD），导致园内多只饲养动物发病并出现血清转换。针对此次疫情，研究人员开展了昆虫监测，并通过实时荧光定量逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）对采集的昆虫样本进行了兽类出血性疾病病毒（epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus, EHDV）检测，以期明确介导此次暴发的当地传播媒介种群。本次检测共发现6份蠓属（Culicoides）吸血蠓混合样本池呈EHDV阳性，其中包括3份Culicoides sonorensis样本池、2份Culicoides variipennis样本池，以及1份降解的C. variipennis复合群蠓样本池。研究人员在园内饲养动物及蠓样本池中均检测到了EHDV全部3种地方流行血清型（1、2及6型）。尽管此次暴发已发生，但动物园周边的野生动物中尚未有EHDV感染病例的报道。该案例凸显了将动物园等动物饲养设施作为监测哨兵的重要性与实用价值，有助于更深入地解析病原体传播的时空动态特征。