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. 2017 Apr;23(4):625-632.
doi: 10.3201/eid2304.161484. Epub 2017 Apr 15.

Variation in Aedes aegypti Mosquito Competence for Zika Virus Transmission

Christopher M Roundy, Sasha R Azar, Shannan L Rossi, Jing H Huang, Grace Leal, Ruimei Yun, Ildefonso Fernandez-Salas, Christopher J Vitek, Igor A D Paploski, Uriel Kitron, Guilherme S Ribeiro, Kathryn A Hanley, Scott C Weaver, Nikos Vasilakis

Variation in Aedes aegypti Mosquito Competence for Zika Virus Transmission

Christopher M Roundy et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

To test whether Zika virus has adapted for more efficient transmission by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, leading to recent urban outbreaks, we fed mosquitoes from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and the United States artificial blood meals containing 1 of 3 Zika virus strains (Senegal, Cambodia, Mexico) and monitored infection, dissemination, and virus in saliva. Contrary to our hypothesis, Cambodia and Mexica strains were less infectious than the Senegal strain. Only mosquitoes from the Dominican Republic transmitted the Cambodia and Mexica strains. However, blood meals from viremic mice were more infectious than artificial blood meals of comparable doses; the Cambodia strain was not transmitted by mosquitoes from Brazil after artificial blood meals, whereas 61% transmission occurred after a murine blood meal (saliva titers up to 4 log 10 infectious units/collection). Although regional origins of vector populations and virus strain influence transmission efficiency, Ae. aegypti mosquitoes appear to be competent vectors of Zika virus in several regions of the Americas.

Keywords: Aedes aegypti; Zika; Zika virus; arbovirus; flaviviruses; mosquitoes; transmission; vector competence; vector-borne infections; viruses.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Infection, dissemination, and transmission of 3 Zika virus strains by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from Salvador, Brazil, after artificial blood meals with a concentration of 4 log10 (A), 5 log10 (B), or 6 log10 (C) focus-forming units/mL.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Infection, dissemination, and transmission of 3 Zika virus strains by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from the Dominican Republic after artificial blood meals with a concentration of 4 log10 (A), 5 log10 (B), or 6 log10 (C) focus-forming units/mL.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Infection, dissemination, and transmission of 3 Zika virus strains by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA, after artificial blood meals with a concentration of 4 log10 (A), 5 log10 (B), or 6 log10 (C) focus-forming units/mL.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Infection, dissemination, and transmission of the Zika virus strain FSS 13025 by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from Salvador, Brazil, after blood meals from infected A129 mice with viremic titers of 4 log10, 6 log10, or 7 log10 focus-forming units/mL.
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