Abstract
In the Western Hemisphere, Zika virus is thought to be transmitted primarily by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. To determine the extent to which Ae. albopictus mosquitoes from the United States are capable of transmitting Zika virus and the influence of virus dose, virus strain, and mosquito species on vector competence, we evaluated multiple doses of representative Zika virus strains in Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. Virus preparation (fresh vs. frozen) significantly affected virus infectivity in mosquitoes. We calculated 50% infectious doses to be 6.1–7.5 log10 PFU/mL; minimum infective dose was 4.2 log10 PFU/mL. Ae. albopictus mosquitoes were more susceptible to infection than Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, but transmission efficiency was higher for Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, indicating a transmission barrier in Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. Results suggest that, although Zika virus transmission is relatively inefficient overall and dependent on virus strain and mosquito species, Ae. albopictus mosquitoes could become major vectors in the Americas.
Highlights
In the Western Hemisphere, Zika virus is thought to be transmitted primarily by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
Zika virus is the latest in a series of arboviruses to successfully invade the Americas; cases locally acquired in the Western Hemisphere were first identified in Brazil in May 2015 [1], and invasion subsequently expanded throughout Latin America and into the United States
In vitro kinetics were similar among strains (Figure 1), Zika virus CAM replicated to modestly higher titers relative to Zika virus PR and HND and a significantly higher peak titer
Summary
In the Western Hemisphere, Zika virus is thought to be transmitted primarily by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. To determine the extent to which Ae. albopictus mosquitoes from the United States are capable of transmitting Zika virus and the influence of virus dose, virus strain, and mosquito species on vector competence, we evaluated multiple doses of representative Zika virus strains in Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. Zika virus transmission is relatively inefficient overall and dependent on virus strain and mosquito species, Ae. albopictus mosquitoes could become major vectors in the Americas. Phylogenetic studies have suggested that the South Pacific islands are probably the source of the current outbreak in the Americas [5]. Few Zika virus isolates have been obtained from mosquitoes in the Americas and few experiments have assessed competence with currently circulating strains and representative mosquito populations. We characterized the dose response for vector competence in Ae. aegypti mosquitoes and a recently colonized Ae. albopictus mosquito population from New York, USA
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