Experimental transmission of Zika virus by mosquitoes from central Europe

Heitmann, Anna; Jansen, Stéphanie; Lühken, Renke; Leggewie, Mayke; Badusche, Marlis; Pluskota, Björn; Becker, Norbert; Vapalahti, Olli; Schmidt‐Chanasit, Jonas; Tannich, Egbert

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.es.2017.22.2.30437

Cited by 84 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(16 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Detection of CHIKV RNA was conducted with RT-PCR (RealStar Chikungunya RT-PCR Kit 2.0, altona Diagnostics, Hamburg, Germany). The detailed salivation assay to detect transmission was described before [21]. In brief, mosquitoes were anesthetised with CO 2 and demobilised.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental risk assessment for chikungunya virus transmission based on vector competence, distribution and temperature suitability in Europe, 2018

Heitmann¹,

Jansen

Lühken

et al. 2018

Eurosurveillance

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundOver the last decade, the abundant distribution of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus in southern Europe and the import of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) by infected travellers has resulted in at least five local outbreaks of chikungunya fever in France and Italy. Considering the ongoing spread of Ae. albopictus to central Europe, we performed an analysis of the Europe-wide spatial risk of CHIKV transmission under different temperature conditions. Methods: Ae. albopictus specimens from Germany and Italy were orally infected with CHIKV from an outbreak in France and kept for two weeks at 18 °C, 21 °C or 24 °C. A salivation assay was conducted to detect infectious CHIKV. Results: Analyses of mosquito saliva for infectious virus particles demonstrated transmission rates (TRs) of > 35%. Highest TRs of 50% for the mosquito population from Germany were detected at 18 °C, while the Italian population had highest TRs of 63% at 18 °C and 21 °C, respectively. Temperature data indicated a potential risk of CHIKV transmission for extended durations, i.e. sufficiently long time periods allowing extrinsic incubation of the virus. This was shown for areas already colonised by Ae. albopictus, as well as for large parts of central Europe that are not colonised. Conclusion: The current risk of CHIKV transmission in Europe is not primarily restricted by temperature, which allows extrinsic incubation of the virus, but rather by the vector distribution. Accordingly, all European countries with established populations of Ae. albopictus should implement respective entomological surveillance and monitoring systems, as basis for suitable control measures.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental risk assessment for chikungunya virus transmission based on vector competence, distribution and temperature suitability in Europe, 2018

Heitmann¹,

Jansen

Lühken

et al. 2018

Eurosurveillance

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Ae. albopictus was found to be competent for ZIKV experimentally 24,27,[43][44][45][46] and strongly suspected to sustain a ZIKV epidemic activity (African lineage) in Gabon in 2007 6 . Ae.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To our knowledge, no autochthonous cases of ZIKV has occurred in Metropolitan France despite the presence of imported cases 48 Vector competence studies performed on Ae. albopictus often revealed a low systemic infection rate for ZIKV 24,25,43,44,50 . All these studies used a ZIKV isolate from the Asian genotype and a virus dose in the same range than our study (from 3 × 10 6 FFU/mL to 10 7 FFU/mL; or 10 7 TCID 50 /mL) and some have used mosquito populations that can be assumed to be closely related to our Ae.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

European and tropical Aedes albopictus mosquito populations have similar systemic Zika virus infection dynamics

Lequime

Dehecq²,

Briolant

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

First isolated from a forest in East Africa in the mid-20 th century, Zika virus (ZIKV) has now emerged worldwide in urbanized areas where its mosquito vectors, mainly Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, are present. Europe and French overseas territories in the Indian Ocean have been so far spared despite the presence of Ae. albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito. However, because they have strong economic and touristic links with regions affected by ZIKV, French territories in the Indian Ocean have a high risk of introduction.Here, we assess the susceptibility of two Ae. albopictus populations from Metropolitan France and the Reunion island (a French oversea territory in the Indian Ocean) for a ZIKV isolate from the Asian genotype at a titer ranging from 3 to 7.5 × 10 6 focus-forming units per milliliter. High infection rates and unpreceded levels of systemic infection rates were observed in both Metropolitan France and the Reunion island populations, without differences in infection rates or intra-mosquito systemic infection dynamics between the two mosquito populations. Ten and 20-days were needed by the virus to disseminate in 50% and 100% of the exposed mosquitoes respectively. Such slow intra-mosquito viral dynamics, in addition to repeatedly reported high transmission barrier in the literature, can impact ZIKV transmission when potentially vectored by Ae. albopictus. However, because mosquito-borne virus intrahost transmission dynamics can be influenced by numerous factors, including virus dose dynamics inside infectious humans or viral evolution towards shorter extrinsic incubation periods (EIP), our results highlight that Ae. albopictus populations present in Metropolitan France and the French territoires in the Indian Ocean might become potential vector for autochthonous ZIKV transmissions.

show abstract

“…Despite the low transmission rate observed in experimental settings [18], this may still justify the concern that the virus could possibly be transmitted in Europe once introduced to the region as was the case with DEV and CHIKV [5]. On these grounds, the WHO gave explicit warning for individuals living and travelling to these A. albopictus endemic regions [8].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No molecular or serological evidence of Zikavirus infection among healthy blood donors living in or travelling to regions where Aedes albopictus circulates

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Experimental transmission of Zika virus by mosquitoes from central Europe

Cited by 84 publications

References 18 publications

Experimental risk assessment for chikungunya virus transmission based on vector competence, distribution and temperature suitability in Europe, 2018

Experimental risk assessment for chikungunya virus transmission based on vector competence, distribution and temperature suitability in Europe, 2018

European and tropical Aedes albopictus mosquito populations have similar systemic Zika virus infection dynamics

No molecular or serological evidence of Zikavirus infection among healthy blood donors living in or travelling to regions where Aedes albopictus circulates

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About