Venereal and vertical transmission of the Aedes albopictus parvovirus in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Abstract

Following per oral infection of Aedes aegypti larvae with Aedes albopictus parvovirus (AaPV), infected males and females adults were tested for their ability to transmit the virus venereally and vertically, respectively. Both types of transmission were observed. A low percentage (2.2%) of AaPV-free females were found contaminated by the virus after mating with AaPV-infected males. Although no significant difference was observed in the fecundity of orally infected and virus-free females, 17.1% of infected ones died before egg laying, whereas no mortality occurred during the same period in virus-free females. There was a clear relationship between the virus titer in the orally infected females and both mortality and infection in their offspring. The virus titer averaged 10(6.2) 50% tissue culture infective doses (TCID50s) in F1 females and 10(3.3) TCID50 in F1 females. Nevertheless, AaPV did not persist in an experimentally infected population of mosquitoes beyond the second generation.