Zika virus replication in the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus in Brazil

• Published in: Emerging microbes & infections Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Guedes, Duschinka RD, Paiva, Marcelo HS, Donato, Mariana MA, Barbosa, Priscilla P, Krokovsky, Larissa, Rocha, Sura W dos S, Saraiva, Karina LA, Crespo, Mônica M, Rezende, Tatiana MT, Wallau, Gabriel L, Barbosa, Rosângela MR, Oliveira, Cláudia MF, Melo-Santos, Maria AV, Pena, Lindomar, Cordeiro, Marli T, Franca, Rafael F de O, Oliveira, André LS de, Peixoto, Christina A, Leal, Walter S, Ayres, Constância FJ
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 09.08.2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Nature Publishing Group; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Aedes; Aedes - virology; Animals; Brazil - epidemiology; Culex; Culex - virology; Genome, Viral; Humans; Microcephaly; Microcephaly - epidemiology; Mosquito Vectors - physiology; Mosquito Vectors - virology; Mosquitoes; Original; Saliva - virology; Salivary Glands - virology; Sequence Analysis, DNA; vector competence; Virus Replication; Zika; Zika virus; Zika Virus - genetics; Zika Virus - isolation & purification; Zika Virus - physiology; Zika Virus Infection - epidemiology; Zika Virus Infection - transmission; Zika Virus Infection - virology; Brazil
• ISSN: 2222-1751; 2222-1751
• DOI: 10.1038/emi.2017.59

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that has recently been associated with an increased incidence of neonatal microcephaly and other neurological disorders. The virus is primarily transmitted by mosquito bite, although other routes of infection have been implicated in some cases. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is considered to be the main vector to humans worldwide; however, there is evidence that other mosquito species, including Culex quinquefasciatus, transmit the virus. To test the potential of Cx. quinquefasciatus to transmit ZIKV, we experimentally compared the vector competence of laboratory-reared Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus. Interestingly, we were able to detect the presence of ZIKV in the midgut, salivary glands and saliva of artificially fed Cx. quinquefasciatus. In addition, we collected ZIKV-infected Cx. quinquefasciatus from urban areas with high microcephaly incidence in Recife, Brazil. Corroborating our experimental data from artificially fed mosquitoes, ZIKV was isolated from field-caught Cx. quinquefasciatus, and its genome was partially sequenced. Collectively, these findings indicate that there may be a wider range of ZIKV vectors than anticipated. Emerging Microbes & Infections (2017) 6, e69; doi:10.1038/emi.2017.59; published online 9 August 2017