A historical perspective on arboviruses of public health interest in Southern Africa

ABSTRACT

Arboviruses are an existing and expanding threat globally, with the potential for causing devastating health and socioeconomic impacts. Mitigating this threat necessitates a One Health approach that integrates vector surveillance, rapid disease detection, and innovative prevention and control measures. In Southern Africa, limited data on the epidemiology of arboviruses, their vectors, and their hosts prevent an effective response. We reviewed the current knowledge on arboviruses in Southern Africa and identified opportunities for further research. A literature search was conducted to identify studies published on arboviruses in 10 tropical and temperate countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) from 1900 onward. We identified 280 studies, half (51.1%) originating from South Africa, that described 31 arboviral species, their vectors, and their clinical effects on hosts reported in the region. Arboviral research flourished in the SADC in the mid-20^th century but then declined, before reemerging in the last two decades. Recent research consists largely of case reports describing outbreaks. Historical vector surveillance and serosurveys from the mid-20^th century suggest that arboviruses are plentiful across Southern Africa, but large gaps remain in the current understanding of arboviral distribution, transmission dynamics, and public health impact.

KEYWORDS:

• Arboviruses
• vectors
• public health
• zoonoses
• Southern Africa

Acknowledgements

We would like to thanks the two anonymous reviewers that really helped in improving the manuscript. In addition, we would also thank the Soulsby Foundation under a Soulsby Travelling Fellowship, and the Penn Center for AIDS Research under Grant #5-P30-AI-045008-17 for supporting this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Penn Center for AIDS Research [5-P30-AI-045008-17]; Soulsby Foundation .