Abstract
BackgroundIn 2013, Zika virus (ZIKV) emerged in French Polynesia and spread through the Pacific region between 2013 and 2017. Several potential Aedes mosquitoes may have contributed to the ZIKV transmission including Aedes aegypti, the main arbovirus vector in the region, and Aedes polynesiensis, vector of lymphatic filariasis and secondary vector of dengue virus. The aim of this study was to analyze the ability of these two Pacific vectors to transmit ZIKV at a regional scale, through the evaluation and comparison of the vector competence of wild Ae. aegypti and Ae. polynesiensis populations from different Pacific islands for a ZIKV strain which circulated in this region during the 2013–2017 outbreak.Methodology/principal findingsField Ae. aegypti (three populations) and Ae. polynesiensis (two populations) from the Pacific region were collected for this study. Female mosquitoes were orally exposed to ZIKV (107 TCID50/mL) isolated in the region in 2014. At 6, 9, 14 and 21 days post-infection, mosquito bodies (thorax and abdomen), heads and saliva were analyzed to measure infection, dissemination, transmission rates and transmission efficiency, respectively. According to our results, ZIKV infection rates were heterogeneous between the Ae. aegypti populations, but the dissemination rates were moderate and more homogenous between these populations. For Ae. polynesiensis, infection rates were less heterogeneous between the two populations tested. The transmission rate and efficiency results revealed a low vector competence for ZIKV of the different Aedes vector populations under study.Conclusion/significanceOur results indicated a low ZIKV transmission by Ae. aegypti and Ae. polynesiensis tested from the Pacific region. These results were unexpected and suggest the importance of other factors especially the vector density, the mosquito lifespan or the large immunologically naive fraction of the population that may have contributed to the rapid spread of the ZIKV in the Pacific region during the 2013–2017 outbreak.
Highlights
Zika fever is an emerging vector borne disease caused by a single stranded RNA virus, Zika virus (ZIKV) belonging to the genus Flavivirus [1]
Aedes mosquitoes were incriminated in the ZIKV outbreak
We showed for the first time the results of vector competence study of wild Aedes aegypti and Aedes polynesiensis from different islands of the Pacific region
Summary
Zika fever is an emerging vector borne disease caused by a single stranded RNA virus, Zika virus (ZIKV) belonging to the genus Flavivirus [1]. ZIKV reemerged in the Pacific region in 2013 in French Polynesia and spread across the region and to the Americas between 2014 and 2016 [5,6,7,8,9]. The 2013–2016 outbreak was due to the emergence of ZIKV belonging to Asian lineage, and genetic analysis revealed divergence between the Pacific and the American clades [18, 19]. In 2013, Zika virus (ZIKV) emerged in French Polynesia and spread through the Pacific region between 2013 and 2017. The aim of this study was to analyze the ability of these two Pacific vectors to transmit ZIKV at a regional scale, through the evaluation and comparison of the vector competence of wild Ae. aegypti and Ae. polynesiensis populations from different Pacific islands for a ZIKV strain which circulated in this region during the 2013–2017 outbreak
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