Abstract
BackgroundTo date there has been no evidence of mosquito-borne virus transmission of public health concern in the UK, despite the occurrence of more than 30 species of mosquito, including putative vectors of arboviruses. The saltmarsh mosquito Ochlerotatus detritus [syn. Aedes (Ochlerotatus) detritus] is locally common in parts of the UK where it can be a voracious feeder on people.MethodsHere, we assess the competence of O. detritus for three major arboviruses: dengue virus (DENV), chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and West Nile virus (WNV) using adult mosquitoes reared from wild, field-obtained immatures.ResultsWe demonstrate laboratory competence for WNV at 21 °C, with viral RNA detected in the mosquito’s saliva 17 days after oral inoculation. By contrast, there was no evidence of laboratory competence of O. detritus for either DENV or CHIKV.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate competence of a UK mosquito for WNV and confirms that O. detritus may present a potential risk for arbovirus transmission in the UK and that further investigation of its vector role in the wild is required.
Highlights
To date there has been no evidence of mosquito-borne virus transmission of public health concern in the United Kingdom (UK), despite the occurrence of more than 30 species of mosquito, including putative vectors of arboviruses
No significant difference was found between the mortality rate of O. detritus and Ae. aegypti infected with chikungunya virus (CHIKV) at 48 h (Fisher’s exact test, two-tailed, P = 0.529)
Blood only controls from the dengue virus (DENV) experiment below were quantitate reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) tested for CHIKV as a negative control; all individuals tested negative
Summary
To date there has been no evidence of mosquito-borne virus transmission of public health concern in the UK, despite the occurrence of more than 30 species of mosquito, including putative vectors of arboviruses. There have been 34 species of mosquito reported in the British Isles [1], including 12 known competent vectors of arboviruses elsewhere [2], no confirmed incidences of mosquito-borne virus transmission to humans has been recorded in the British Isles [3]. Ochlerotatus detritus is a multivoltine species, With increasing global travel of both humans and livestock, as well as changing global climatic conditions, the geographic range of many mosquito-borne arboviruses. Outbreaks of WNV in Europe occur annually and given that the virus can be moved around the continent in migratory birds, there would appear to be a route of entry for the virus in the United Kingdom (UK). Antibodies have been detected in migratory and domestic birds in the UK [12, 13] indicating that the UK may be at risk of the establishment of WNV
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