Natural Vertical Transmission of Zika Virus in Larval Aedes aegypti Populations, Morelos, Mexico

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 25; no. 8; pp. 1477 - 1484
• Main Authors: Izquierdo-Suzán, Mónica, Zárate, Selene, Torres-Flores, Jesús, Correa-Morales, Fabián, González-Acosta, Cassandra, Sevilla-Reyes, Edgar E, Lira, Rosalia, Alcaraz-Estrada, Sofía L, Yocupicio-Monroy, Martha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.08.2019; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Aedes - virology; Aedes aegypti; Animals; Cell Line; Cells (Biology); Cells, Cultured; Chlorocebus aethiops; Environmental Microbiology; Fluorescent antibody technique; Genome, Viral; Genomes; Genomics; Humans; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Larva; larvae; Mexico; Mexico - epidemiology; Mosquito Vectors - virology; Mosquitoes; natural vertical transmission; Natural Vertical Transmission of Zika Virus in Larval; Phylogeny; Polymerase chain reaction; Populations, Morelos, Mexico; Public Health Surveillance; RNA; Vero Cells; Viral Load; Viral Plaque Assay; viruses; Whole Genome Sequencing; Zika virus; Zika Virus - classification; Zika Virus - physiology; Zika Virus Infection - transmission; Zika Virus Infection - virology; Mexico; mosquitoes; viruses; vector-borne infections; Mexico; Aedes aegypti; Zika virus; larvae; natural vertical transmission
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2508.181533

We characterized natural vertical transmission of Zika virus in pools of Aedes aegypti larvae hatched from eggs collected in Jojutla, Morelos, Mexico. Of the 151 pools analyzed, 17 tested positive for Zika virus RNA; infectious Zika virus was successfully isolated from 1 of the larvae pools (31N) in C6/36 cells. Real-time quantitative PCR and indirect immunofluorescence assays confirmed the identity of the isolate, named Zika virus isolate 31N; plaque assays in Vero cells demonstrated the isolate's infectivity in a mammalian cell line. We obtained the complete genome of Zika virus isolate 31N by next-generation sequencing and identified 3 single-nucleotide variants specific to Zika virus isolate 31N using the meta-CATS tool. These results demonstrate the occurrence of natural vertical transmission of Zika virus in wild Ae. aegypti mosquitoes and suggest that this transmission mode could aid in the spread and maintenance of Zika virus in nature.