Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, VOLUME 120 | 2025
Research Articles
Entomo-virological investigation in urban forest fragments and intradomiciles during a dengue outbreak in Salinas, MG, Brazil
1Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais, Laboratório de Comportamento de Insetos, Salinas, MG, Brasil
2Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Uso dos Recursos Naturais, Montes Claros, MG, Brasil
3Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Salinas, Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais, Centro Colaborador de Entomologia, Laboratório de Comportamento de Insetos, Salinas, MG, Brasil
4Secretaria de Saúde do Estado de Minas Gerais, Coordenação Estadual de Vigilância de Arboviroses e Controle Vetorial, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
5Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil
6Fundação Ezequiel Dias, Serviço de Virologia e Riquetsioses, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
7Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto René Rachou, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
8Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Laboratório de Interações Ecológicas e Biodiversidade, Montes Claros, MG, Brasil
9Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Insetos Transmissores de Hematozoários, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
BACKGROUND Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are among the most important disease vectors worldwide. Several species exhibit high levels of anthropophily and are frequently found in human dwellings and forest fragments near urban areas.
OBJECTIVES In this integrative study combining mosquito collection, viral detection, and ecological analyses, the assemblage of diurnal mosquitoes was investigated across three distinct environments - intradomiciles, and two distinct urban forest fragments (UFFs) - during a dengue outbreak in the city of Salinas, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
METHODS Sampled mosquitoes were tested for the presence of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses through real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
FINDINGS A total of 722 mosquitoes were collected, representing seven genera and 12 species. The most abundant species were Culex quinquefasciatus (270/722, 37.4%), Aedes aegypti (205/722, 28.4%), Ae. albopictus (112/722, 15.5%), and Ae. scapularis (110/722, 15.2%). Five of 81 pools tested positive for dengue virus serotype 1 (DENV-1) RNA, all belonging to Ae. aegypti species. Phylogenetic analyses of the nearly complete genome of DENV-1 revealed clustering with strains sampled in 2023 from São Paulo State. Mosquito richness and composition differed between environments (houses and urban forests), whereas abundance was similar across all environments.
MAIN CONCLUSIONS Important vector species were detected, including Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Ae. scapularis, Sabethes albiprivus, and Coquillettidia venezuelensis, associated with the transmission of dengue, oropouche, mayaro, yellow fever, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis viruses. Entomological and virological investigations in urban and peri-urban environments are crucial, as these areas provide shelter and refuge for anthropophilic and opportunistic mosquito species. Our findings underscore a high potential for mosquito-borne disease spillover in these areas.
Financial support: FAPEMIG (grants No. APQ-01403-21 and REDE UAI-ARBO-MG program No. RED-00234-23), National Institutes of Health [grant No. U01 AI151698 as part of the United World Arbovirus Research Network (UWARN)]. This work was partially supported by grants from Secretaria Estadual de Saúde de Minas Gerais and Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Salinas through the Centro Colaborador de Entomologia program.
CHO is a doctoral fellow supported by the FAPEMIG; LMRT and NRG received scholarships (BDCTI-I) from the FAPEMIG through project RED-00234-23; FSC received a scholarship from the CNPq; TERA received a scholarship from the CNPq under the process number 157696/2025-1.
+ Corresponding authors: cirilohenrique15@gmail.com | 
https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-3734-8735 / filipe.vieira@ifnmg.edu.br | https:// orcid.org/0000-0001-9768-4688
Received 06 April 2025
Accepted 17 September 2025
HOW TO CITE
Oliveira CH, Teixeira TJ, Barros RMC, Araújo AB, Ferreira AT, Chaves DCC, et al. Entomo-virological investigation in urban forest fragments and intradomiciles during a dengue outbreak in Salinas, MG, Brazil. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2025; 120: e250086.
HANDLING EDITOR
Adeilton Alves Brandão | https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5877-607X
