Detection and Characterization of West Nile Virus with evidence of Vertical Transmission in the Coastal region, Kenya

This project investigates the presence and genetic diversity of West Nile virus (WNV) in mosquito populations collected from the coastal region of Kenya. Mosquito samples were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing to detect and characterize viral genomes circulating in local vector populations. Following the detection of WNV, metabarcoding approaches were applied to confirm mosquito species composition and associate viral sequences with potential vector species. The generated sequence data provide insight into the diversity and distribution of WNV in the region and contribute to improved understanding of virus vector relationships.

本研究针对肯尼亚沿海地区采集的蚊媒种群，探究西尼罗河病毒（West Nile virus, WNV）的存在状况与遗传多样性。研究采用高通量测序技术对蚊媒样本开展分析，以检测并解析当地媒介种群中传播的病毒基因组特征。在检测到西尼罗河病毒后，本研究进一步采用元条形码测序（metabarcoding）技术，明确蚊媒物种组成，并将病毒序列与潜在媒介物种进行关联。本研究产生的序列数据可揭示该区域西尼罗河病毒的多样性与分布特征，有助于深化对病毒-媒介互作关系的认知。