ARBOVIRUSES: viruses

spread by ANTHROPOD
VECTORS
JAMES FELIX GALES
Arbovirus
• is a shortened name given to viruses that
are transmitted by arthropods, or
arthropod-borne viruses
• Some Arboviruses are able to cause
emergent disease. Arthropods are able to
transmit the virus upon biting allowing the
virus to enter the bloodstream which can
cause viraemia.
Arthropod
• is an invertebrate that has an exoskeleton
(external skeleton), a segmented body,
and jointed attachments called
appendages. Arthropods are animals
belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from
Greek arthron, "joint", and podos "foot",
which together mean "jointed feet"), and
include the insects, arachnids,
crustaceans, and others.
Viremia
• is a medical condition where
viruses enter the bloodstream
and hence have access to the
rest of the body. It is similar to
bacteremia, a condition where
bacteria enter the bloodstream
 Major ARBOVIRUSES

• Togavirus (Alphavirus)
• Flaviviruses (Flavivirus)
• Bunyaviruses (Bunyavirus and Phlebovirus)
• Reonivius (orbivirus)
 Chief VECTORS
• MOSQUITOS

• TICKS

• FLIES

• GNATS
 Epidemiology of Arbovirus
Disease
• Anthropods are found WORLDWIDE so as
the ARBOVIRUSES they carry.

• The vectors and viruses tend to be cluster

in trpics abd subtropics but many
temperate zones report periodic edemics.
The influence of vectors
• The carriers of arbovirus are the
anthropds themselves
FACTORS THAT WEIGHS HEAVILY FOR
RAMPANT SPREAD OF ARBOVIRUS:
1. Anthropds lifespan
2. Availablity of food and breeding sites
3. Climatic influences
• Most anthropod vectors feed on blood host

• Humans can serve s the dead end and

accidental hosts or they can be a
maintenace reservior

• Risk for arboviral infections are great in

wilderness areas where encounters with
anthropod vectors are frequent
 General Charcteristics of
ARBOVIRUS infections
FEBRILE ILLNESS

One ytpe of disease elicited by arboviruses

is an acute, undifferentail fever, often
accompanied by rush.
Example:
DENGUE FEVER
COLORADO TICK FEVER
Prominent symptoms:

• Fever
• Prostration
• Headache
• Myalgia
• Orbital pain
• Muscle aches
• Joint stiffness

And later through the illness, a maculopapular r petechial

rash can erupt over the trunk and limbs.
 General Charcteristics of
ARBOVIRUS infections
ENCEPHALITIS

Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the

brain.
• Encephalitis with meningitis is known as
meningoencephalitis.
Symptoms
Patients with encephalitis suffer from fever,
headache and photophobia with weakness and
seizures also common.

Less commonly, stiffness of the neck can occur

with rare cases of patients also suffering from
stiffness of the limbs, slowness in movement
and clumsiness depending on which specific
part of the brain is involved.

The symptoms of encephalitis are caused by the

brain's defense mechanisms activating to get rid
of the infection. Other symptoms can include
drowsiness and coughing.
Most common type American types are:
• eastern equine
• St. Louis
• California encephalities

The viruses cycle between wild animals and

mosqiutoes or ticks, but humans are noot usually
reservior hosts.

The disease begins with a bite, which releases a virus

into the tissues and nearby lymphatics.
Prolonged viremia establishes virus in the brain,
where inflammation can cause swelling and
damage t the brain, nerves, and meninges.

Symptoms may also include:

Coma loss of coordination

Convulsions memory deficits
Paralysis changes in speech and
personality
Tremor heart disorders
COLORADO TICK FEVER
also called Mountain tick fever,
Mountain fever, and American
mountain fever)

is an acute viral infection

transmitted from the bite of an
infected wood tick
(Dermacentor andersoni).

It should not be confused with

the bacterial tick-borne
infection, Rocky Mountain
Spotted Fever.
 WESTERN EQUINE
ENCEPHALITIES
The Western equine encephalitis virus is the
causative agent of relatively uncommon viral
disease Western equine encephalitis (WEE).
An Alphavirus of the family Togaviridae, the
WEE virus is an arbovirus (arthropod-borne
virus) transmitted by mosquitoes of the
genera Culex and Culiseta. There have been
under 700 confirmed cases in the U.S. since
1964.
 EASTERN EQUINE
ENCEPHALITIES
Eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus (EEE),
commonly called sleeping sickness or "Triple E",
is a zoonotic alphavirus and arbovirus present in
North, Central and South America and the
Caribbean. EEE was first recognized in
Massachusetts, USA in 1831 when 75 horses
died of encephalitic illness. Epizootics in horses
have continued to occur regularly in the United
States. EEE is found today in the eastern part of
the country and is often associated with coastal
plains.
 California encephalitis
• California encephalitis virus causes
encephalitis in humans. Mosquitos serve as its
vectors. For this reason this virus is known as an
arbovirus (arthropod-borne virus).

• California encephalitis virus belongs to the

Bunyaviridae family of viruses, and the genus
Bunyavirus. La Crosse Virus is the most
important California encephalitis virus in the
United States. Other related viruses include
California encephalitis virus and Jamestown
Canyon virus.
 La Crosse encephalitis
Symptoms
• nausea
• headache
• vomiting in milder cases and
• seizures
• coma
• paralysis
• permanent brain damage in severe cases
 St. Louis encephalitis
• St. Louis Encephalitis is a disease
caused by the Culex mosquito borne St.
Louis Encephalitis virus. St. Louis
encephalitis virus is related to Japanese
encephalitis virus and is a member of the
Flaviviridae subgroup. This disease mainly
affects the United States. Occasional
cases have been reported from Canada
and Mexico.
 Viral hemorrhagic fever
The viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a diverse
group of animal and human illnesses that are caused
by five distinct families of RNA viruses: the
Arenaviridae, Filoviridae, Bunyaviridae, Togaviridae,
and Flaviviridae.

All types of VHF are characterized by fever and

bleeding disorders and all can progress to high fever,
shock and death in extreme cases. Some of the VHF
agents cause relatively mild illnesses, such as the
Scandinavian nephropathia epidemica, while others,
such as the African Ebola virus, can cause severe,
life-threatening disease.
 Signs and symptoms of VHFs
• fever and
• bleeding diathesis
• flushing of the face and chest
• petechiae
• frank bleeding
• edema
• Hypotension
• shock
• Malaise
• headache
• vomiting
• diarrhea
 Yellow fever
• is an acute viral disease. The virus, a 40 to
50 nm enveloped RNA virus of the family of
Flaviviridae is transmitted by the bite of
mosquitoes (the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes
aegypti, and other species). Yellow fever is an
important cause of hemorrhagic illness in
tropical and subtropical areas of African and
South American despite existence of an effective
vaccine. The yellow refers to the jaundice
symptoms that affect some patients.
 Dengue fever
• dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are
acute febrile diseases, found in the
tropics, and caused by four closely related
virus serotypes of the genus Flavivirus,
family Flaviviridae.

• It is also known as breakbone fever.

 diagnosis of dengue
• The diagnosis of dengue is usually made
clinically. The classic picture is high fever with
no localising source of infection, a petechial rash
with thrombocytopenia and relative leukopenia -
low platelet and white blood cell count. Care has
to be taken as diagnosis of DHF can mask end
stage liver disease and vice versa.
• Fever, bladder problem, constant headaches,
eye pain, severe dizziness and loss of appetite.
• Hemorrhagic tendency (positive tourniquet test,
spontaneous bruising, bleeding from mucosa,
gingiva, injection sites, etc.; vomiting blood, or
bloody diarrhea)
• Thrombocytopenia (<100,000 platelets per mm³ or
estimated as less than 3 platelets per high power
field)
• Evidence of plasma leakage (hematocrit more than
20% higher than expected, or drop in haematocrit of
20% or more from baseline following IV fluid, pleural
effusion, ascites, hypoproteinemia)
• Encephalitic occurrences.
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