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. 2020 Jul 16;9(7):575.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens9070575.

Vector Competence of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus from Brazil and New Caledonia for Three Zika Virus Lineages

Rosilainy S Fernandes  1 , Olivia O'Connor  2 , Maria Ignez L Bersot  1 , Dominique Girault  2 , Marguerite R Dokunengo  2 , Nicolas Pocquet  3 , Myrielle Dupont-Rouzeyrol  2 , Ricardo Lourenço-de-Oliveira  1
Affiliations

Vector Competence of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus from Brazil and New Caledonia for Three Zika Virus Lineages

Rosilainy S Fernandes et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) has caused severe epidemics in South America beginning in 2015, following its spread through the Pacific. We comparatively assessed the vector competence of ten populations of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus from Brazil and two of Ae. aegypti and one of Culex quinquefasciatus from New Caledonia to transmit three ZIKV isolates belonging to African, Asian and American lineages. Recently colonized mosquitoes from eight distinct sites from both countries were orally challenged with the same viral load (107 TCID50/mL) and examined after 7, 14 and 21 days. Cx. quinquefasciatus was refractory to infection with all virus strains. In contrast, although competence varied with geographical origin, Brazilian and New Caledonian Ae. aegypti could transmit the three ZIKV lineages, with a strong advantage for the African lineage (the only one reaching saliva one-week after challenge). Brazilian Ae. albopictus populations were less competent than Ae. aegypti populations. Ae. albopictus generally exhibited almost no transmission for Asian and American lineages, but was efficient in transmitting the African ZIKV. Viral surveillance and mosquito control measures must be strengthened to avoid the spread of new ZIKV lineages and minimize the transmission of viruses currently circulating.

Keywords: susceptibility; transmission efficiency; vector capacity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Vector competence results for Aedes aegypti from different cities of Brazil (Cuiabá,Londrina, Manaus, Natal and Rio de Janeiro) and New Caledonia (Kone and Noumea) orally challenged with three ZIKV isolates: DAK 84 (African lineage), MASS 66 (Asian lineage), MRS OPY (American lineage). (A) Infection rate, (B) dissemination rate, (C) transmission rate and (D) transmission efficiency at 7, 14 and 21 days after challenge. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Significant differences are indicated by asterisks (Fisher’s Exact test: * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001).
Figure 2
Figure 2
ZIKV load in saliva of Ae. aegypti from five Brazilian cities at 7, 14 and 21 days after oral challenge with three isolates: DAK 84 (African lineage), MASS 66 (Asian lineage), MRS OPY (American lineage). Virus was detected by plaque forming unit (PFU) assays on Vero cells. Significant difference is indicated by asterisk (Wilcoxon test: * p < 0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Vector competence results for Aedes albopictus from different Brazilian cities orally challenged with three ZIKV three isolates: DAK 84 (African lineage), MASS 66 (Asian lineage), MRS OPY (American lineage). (A) Infection rate, (B) dissemination rate, (C) transmission rate and (D) transmission efficiency at 7, 14 and 21 days after oral challenge. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Significant differences are indicated by asterisks (Fisher’s Exact test: * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001).
Figure 4
Figure 4
ZIKV load in saliva of Ae. albopictus from five Brazilian cities at 7, 14 and 21 days after oral challenge with three isolates: DAK 84 (African lineage), MASS 66 (Asian lineage), MRS OPY (American lineage). Virus was detected by plaque forming unit (PFU) assays on Vero cells.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Species and localization of mosquitoes from Brazil and New Caledonia challenged with Zika virus. The generations of tested mosquitoes are in parenthesis.
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