Abstract
Since 2004, several million indigenous cases of Chikungunya virus disease occurred in Africa, the Indian Ocean, India, Asia and, recently, Europe. The virus, usually transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, has now repeatedly been associated with a new vector, Ae. Albopictus. Analysis of full-length viral sequences reveals three independent events of virus exposure to Ae. Albopictus, each followed by the acquisition of a single adaptive mutation providing selective advantage for transmission by this mosquito. This disconcerting and current unique example of "evolutionary convergence" occurring in nature illustrates rapid pathogen adaptation to ecological perturbation, driven directly as a consequence of human activities.
Highlights
Mosquito-transmitted Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is responsible for explosive outbreaks of febrile arthralgia in humans [1,2]
Phylogenetic analyses of full-length genomes reveal that CHIKV is readily transported by infected travellers to distant locations where it generates new outbreaks
CHIKV has been recently associated with an alternative vector, Ae
Summary
Mosquito-transmitted Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is responsible for explosive outbreaks of febrile arthralgia in humans [1,2]. Phylogenetic analyses of full-length genomes reveal that CHIKV is readily transported by infected travellers to distant locations where it generates new outbreaks (fig-2). Until recently, during human outbreaks, the principal identified vector of CHIKV was Ae. aegypti.
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