Abstract
In late 2014, Zika virus (ZIKV; Flaviviridae, Flavivirus) emerged as a significant arboviral disease threat in the Western hemisphere. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus have been considered the principal vectors of ZIKV in the New World due to viral isolation frequency and vector competence assessments. Limited reports of Culex transmission potential have highlighted the need for additional vector competence assessments of North American Culex species. Accordingly, North American Culex pipiens and Culex quinquefasciatus were orally exposed and intrathoracically inoculated with the African prototype ZIKV strain and currently circulating Asian lineage ZIKV strains to assess infection, dissemination, and transmission potential. Results indicated that these two North American Culex mosquito species were highly refractory to oral infection with no dissemination or transmission observed with any ZIKV strains assessed. Furthermore, both Culex mosquito species intrathoracically inoculated with either Asian or African lineage ZIKVs failed to expectorate virus in saliva. These in vivo results were further supported by the observation that multiple mosquito cell lines of Culex species origin demonstrated significant growth restriction of ZIKV strains compared with Aedes-derived cell lines. In summation, no evidence for the potential of Cx. pipiens or Cx. quinquefasciatus to serve as a competent vector for ZIKV transmission in North America was observed.
Highlights
Zika virus (ZIKV), a member of the genus Flavivirus, has recently surfaced as a significant threat to global public health despite only having been found in the Western hemisphere since late 2014
In an attempt to rule out the role of Culex mosquitoes as possible ZIKV vectors in North America, we evaluated Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. pipiens mosquitoes for susceptibility to infection after oral and intrathoracic (IT) exposure to recent Asian genotype ZIKV isolates from Puerto Rico and Honduras as well as the original African lineage isolate from Uganda
There was no detectable dissemination of virus from the midgut of the single Cx. quinquefasciatus mosquito body identified to be ZIKV positive after oral exposure to MR766 as determined by cytopathic effects (CPEs) testing of legs/wings
Summary
Zika virus (ZIKV), a member of the genus Flavivirus, has recently surfaced as a significant threat to global public health despite only having been found in the Western hemisphere since late 2014. ZIKV was associated with sporadic limited human disease prior to 2007 when ZIKV caused outbreaks in Yap and Gabon.[13,14] By 2013, ZIKV had spread to French Polynesia and other islands of the South Pacific including New Caledonia, the Cook Islands, and Easter Island prior to its first detection in the Western hemisphere in 2014.15
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