Aedes albopictus Strain and Dengue Virus Serotype in the Dengue Fever Outbreaks in Japan: Implications of Wolbachia Infection

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Vol. 75; no. 2; pp. 140 - 143
• Main Authors: Sasaki, Toshinori, Moi, Meng Ling, Saito, Kazumi, Isawa, Haruhiko, Takasaki, Tomohiko, Sawabe, Kyoko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Editorial Committee 31.03.2022; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Aedes - genetics; Aedes - virology; Aedes albopictus; Anaplasmataceae Infections - microbiology; Anaplasmataceae Infections - virology; Animals; Aquatic insects; Bacteria; Dengue - epidemiology; Dengue - immunology; Dengue - virology; Dengue fever; dengue virus; Dengue Virus - genetics; Dengue Virus - immunology; Disease Outbreaks; Disease Susceptibility; Disease transmission; Fever; imported dengue fever; Japan - epidemiology; Mosquitoes; Outbreaks; Serogroup; Strains (organisms); Susceptibility; Symbiosis; Vector-borne diseases; Viral diseases; Viruses; Wolbachia; Wolbachia - genetics; Wolbachia - virology; Japan; Aedes albopictus; imported dengue fever; susceptibility; Wolbachia; dengue virus
• ISSN: 1344-6304; 1884-2836; 1884-2836
• DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID.2021.376

From August 27 to October 15, 2014, a dengue fever outbreak with 158 autochthonous cases occurred after nearly 70 years of no reports of autochthonous cases in Japan. The most competent mosquito vector for dengue virus (DENV) transmission in Japan is Aedes albopictus. Since A. albopictus is widely distributed throughout Japan, we examined the susceptibility of this species to infection by DENV and the relationship of the endosymbiont Wolbachia (wAlbA and wAlbB) with susceptibility to DENV. The A. albopictus YYG strain, collected from the Yoyogi Park in 2014, the epicenter of the dengue fever outbreak, was found to have lower susceptibility to DENV 1 and 3 than that of the indigenous Japanese strains A. albopictus EBN 201808 (F1 from the field) and A. albopictus ISG 201603. Furthermore, the A. albopictus EBN 201808 strain showed the same susceptibility to DENV3 as the A. albopictus ISG 201603tet strain (Wolbachia-free). Susceptibility to DENV3 was not related to Wolbachia strains wAlbA or wAlbB in the A. albopictus ISG 201603 strain.