The
Aedes aegypti
vector for dengue virus (DENV) has been reported in urban and periurban areas. The information
about DENV circulation in mosquitoes in Colombian rural areas is limited, so we aimed to evaluate the
presence of DENV in
Ae. aegypti females caught in rural locations of two Colombian municipalities, Anapoima and
La Mesa. Mosquitoes from 497 rural households in 44 different rural settlements were collected. Pools of about 20
Ae. aegypti females were processed for DENV serotype detection. DENV in mosquitoes was detected in 74% of the
analysed settlements with a pool positivity rate of 62%. The estimated individual mosquito infection rate was 4.12%
and the minimum infection rate was 33.3/1,000 mosquitoes. All four serotypes were detected; the most frequent being
DENV-2 (50%) and DENV-1 (35%). Two-three serotypes were detected simultaneously in separate pools. This is the
first report on the co-occurrence of natural DENV infection of mosquitoes in Colombian rural areas. The findings
are important for understanding dengue transmission and planning control strategies. A potential latent virus reservoir
in rural areas could spill over to urban areas during population movements. Detecting DENV in wild-caught
adult mosquitoes should be included in the development of dengue epidemic forecasting models.
