Abstract
The WHO estimates there may be 50 million dengue virus (DENV) infections worldwide every year, with the disease being endemic in more than 100 countries [1]. There has been a dramatic rise in the incidence of dengue in recent decades, making this an arbovirus of major international public health concern. Dengue viruses belong to the family Flaviviridae and are transmitted between humans via infected female Aedes mosquitoes, particularly Aedes aegypti. In the state of Queensland, Australia, infected travellers from overseas have facilitated numerous DENV outbreaks [2], [3]. However, these outbreaks are limited to the far north of the state, the only area of Australia where Ae. aegypti occurs [4]. There have been case reports of non-vector, healthcare-associated transmission of DENVs—four cases of percutaneous transmission via needlestick injuries, mucocutaneous transmission through a blood splash to the face, vertical transmission, and transmission via bone marrow transplant (summarised in [5]). We report the first case to our knowledge of DENV infection acquired by a laboratory scientist conducting mosquito infection and transmission experiments.
Highlights
The WHO estimates there may be 50 million dengue virus (DENV) infections worldwide every year, with the disease being endemic in more than 100 countries [1]
We report the first case to our knowledge of DENV infection acquired by a laboratory scientist conducting mosquito infection and transmission experiments
Seroconversion of anti-flavivirus IgG antibodies was detected, suggesting that this was an acute infection. In support for this infection having been acquired in the laboratory, the antibody response was to the same virus serotype as was used during the laboratory experiment, and nucleotide sequencing analysis affirmed that the DENV-type 2 (DENV-2) strain recovered from the patient was 99.8% homologous and an identical strain to the virus that had been used (Figure 1)
Summary
The WHO estimates there may be 50 million dengue virus (DENV) infections worldwide every year, with the disease being endemic in more than 100 countries [1]. Dengue viruses belong to the family Flaviviridae and are transmitted between humans via infected female Aedes mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti. In the state of Queensland, Australia, infected travellers from overseas have facilitated numerous DENV outbreaks [2,3]. These outbreaks are limited to the far north of the state, the only area of Australia where Ae. aegypti occurs [4]. We report the first case to our knowledge of DENV infection acquired by a laboratory scientist conducting mosquito infection and transmission experiments
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