A molecular surveillance-guided vector control response to concurrent dengue and West Nile virus outbreaks in a COVID-19 hotspot of Florida

Coatsworth, H.; Lippi, C.; Vasquez, C.; Ayers, J. B.; Stephenson, C. J.; Waits, C.; Florez, M.; Wilke, A. B. B.; Unlu, I.; Medina, J.; Alcaide, M. L.; Ryan, S. J.; Lednicky, J. A.; Beier, J. C.; Petrie, W.; Dinglasan, R. R.

Simultaneous dengue virus (DENV) and West Nile virus (WNV) outbreaks in Florida, USA, in 2020 resulted in 71 dengue virus serotype 1 and 86 WNV human cases. Our outbreak response leveraged a molecular diagnostic screen of mosquito populations for DENV and WNV in Miami-Dade County to quickly employ targeted mosquito abatement efforts. We detected DENV serotypes 2 and 4 in mosquito pools, highlighting the silent circulation of diverse dengue serotypes in mosquitoes. Additionally, we found WNV-positive mosquito pools in areas with no historical reports of WNV transmission. These findings demonstrate the importance of proactive, strategic arbovirus surveillance in mosquito populations to prevent and control outbreaks, particularly when other illnesses (e.g., COVID-19), which present with similar symptoms are circulating concurrently. Growing evidence for substantial infection prevalence of dengue in competent mosquito vectors in the absence of local index cases suggests a higher level of dengue endemicity in Florida than previously thought.