The Asian tiger mosquito is not a major threat to Zika virus infections, according to a study published on December 31 in the journal Open Access Pathogens PLOS with Albin Fontaine of the Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, and colleagues.
Zika virus has induced major events in human populations, in some cases causing congenital deformities, fetal loss, or neurological problems in adults. While the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti is considered the main vector of the Zika virus, the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus has been experimentally shown to transmit the virus and was involved in several outbreaks of the virus in France. in 2019.
Originated from Southeast Asia, Ae. Aegypti is an aggressive spy that invaded the world and is now present on all inhabited continents, including central Europe, because her ability to tolerate bad weather in winter. As the second most important vector of human viral pathogens, Ae. albopictus destroys Ae. aegypti numbers due to competitive advantages. But it is not known if Ae. Albopictus may cause serious infections of the Zika virus.
To address this question, the researchers revealed Ae. albopictus to Zika virus and assessed the levels of infectivity in experiments, created the dynamics of Zika virus infection within individuals, and used epidemiological simulations. The highest risk of transmission occurred at the preexisting stage of the disease. At this dose, the probability of mosquito infection was estimated to be 20%, and 21 days were required to reach moderate levels of systemic disease.
Despite these unfavorable characteristics for distribution, Ae. Albopictus was still able to induce a large outbreak in a symbolic environment in the presence of high enough mosquito densities and feeding levels. According to the authors, active inspection and eradication programs should be implemented in areas inhabited by Ae. albopictus to maintain the low risk of Zika virus outbreak.
The authors conclude, “The complementary combination of dose-dependent experimental diseases, modeling of intra-human viremia dynamics, and in silo epidemiological simulations confirm the low epidemic potential of Aedes. albopictus for Zika virus.
Source:
Magazine Reference:
Lequime, S., et al. (2020) Intra-mosquito modeling dynamics of Zika virus and dose dependence confirm low epidemic potential of Aedes albopictus. Pathogens PLOS. doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009068.