Culex mosquitoes are experimentally unable to transmit Zika virus

Amraoui, Fadila; Atyame-Nten, Célestine; Vega-Rúa, Anubis; Lourenço‐de‐Oliveira, Ricardo; Vazeille, Marie; Failloux, Anna‐Bella

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.es.2016.21.35.30333

Cited by 69 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The conclusions reported here regarding the inability of Culex mosquitoes to vector ZIKV correspond with a majority of recent studies addressing ZIKV transmission in Culex mosquitoes 28–32. In contrast, two accounts report differing ZIKV transmission potential of Culex mosquitoes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Transmission Incompetence of Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex pipiens pipiens from North America for Zika Virus

Kenney

Romo

Duggal

et al. 2017

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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In late 2014, Zika virus (ZIKV; Flaviviridae, Flavivirus) emerged as a significant arboviral disease threat in the Western hemisphere. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus have been considered the principal vectors of ZIKV in the New World due to viral isolation frequency and vector competence assessments. Limited reports of Culex transmission potential have highlighted the need for additional vector competence assessments of North American Culex species. Accordingly, North American Culex pipiens and Culex quinquefasciatus were orally exposed and intrathoracically inoculated with the African prototype ZIKV strain and currently circulating Asian lineage ZIKV strains to assess infection, dissemination, and transmission potential. Results indicated that these two North American Culex mosquito species were highly refractory to oral infection with no dissemination or transmission observed with any ZIKV strains assessed. Furthermore, both Culex mosquito species intrathoracically inoculated with either Asian or African lineage ZIKVs failed to expectorate virus in saliva. These in vivo results were further supported by the observation that multiple mosquito cell lines of Culex species origin demonstrated significant growth restriction of ZIKV strains compared with Aedes-derived cell lines. In summation, no evidence for the potential of Cx. pipiens or Cx. quinquefasciatus to serve as a competent vector for ZIKV transmission in North America was observed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Transmission Incompetence of Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex pipiens pipiens from North America for Zika Virus

Kenney

Romo

Duggal

et al. 2017

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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“…Several reports have now shown Culex spp. to be refractory to infection [41–45], including one field report [46]. Only one report has shown Culex to be susceptible to ZIKV infection [47].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vector Competence of American Mosquitoes for Three Strains of Zika Virus

et al. 2016

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In 2015, Zika virus (ZIKV; Flaviviridae; Flavivirus) emerged in the Americas, causing millions of infections in dozens of countries. The rapid spread of the virus and the association with disease outcomes such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly make understanding transmission dynamics essential. Currently, there are no reports of vector competence (VC) of American mosquitoes for ZIKV isolates from the Americas. Further, it is not clear whether ZIKV strains from other genetic lineages can be transmitted by American Aedes aegypti populations, and whether the scope of the current epidemic is in part facilitated by viral factors such as enhanced replicative fitness or increased vector competence. Therefore, we characterized replication of three ZIKV strains, one from each of the three phylogenetic clades in several cell lines and assessed their abilities to be transmitted by Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. Additionally, laboratory colonies of different Culex spp. were infected with an American outbreak strain of ZIKV to assess VC. Replication rates were variable and depended on virus strain, cell line and MOI. African strains used in this study outcompeted the American strain in vitro in both mammalian and mosquito cell culture. West and East African strains of ZIKV tested here were more efficiently transmitted by Ae. aegypti from Mexico than was the currently circulating American strain of the Asian lineage. Long-established laboratory colonies of Culex mosquitoes were not efficient ZIKV vectors. These data demonstrate the capacity for additional ZIKV strains to infect and replicate in American Aedes mosquitoes and suggest that neither enhanced virus replicative fitness nor virus adaptation to local vector mosquitoes seems likely to explain the extent and intensity of ZIKV transmission in the Americas.

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“…quinquefasciatus mosquitoes may be competent vectors of ZIKV, several peer-reviewed studies utilizing mosquito populations from Brazil [41], Italy [42], Tunisia [43], the U.S. [36,43,44] demonstrated that these mosquitoes as well as Cx. pipiens are refractory to ZIKV infection and incapable of transmission.…”

Section: Transmission Cyclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flavivirus transmission focusing on Zika

Vasilakis

Weaver

2017

Current Opinion in Virology

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Flaviviruses are among the most diverse viruses with over 85 species recognized. Taxonomically, this genus is one of the 4 recognized genera within the family Flaviviridae. Most flaviviruses of human public health significance, e.g. dengue, yellow fever and Zika viruses, are arthropod-borne (arboviruses) and have two evolutionarily and ecologically distinct transmission cycles: a sylvatic transmission cycle, where the virus circulates between zoonotic vertebrate reservoir and amplification hosts and arboreal mosquitoes; and an urban transmission cycle, where the virus circulates between humans and peridomestic Aedes spp. mosquitoes. Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus closely related to West Nile, dengue, Spondweni, Japanese encephalitis and yellow fever viruses, remained in obscurity since its discovery in 1947, but has recently emerged to cause a series of epidemics in the South Pacific, and most recently reaching nearly pandemic levels with its introduction in the Americas. Available epidemiologic and experimental evidence points to Aedes aegypti as the principal urban vector, possibly supplemented by Ae. albopictus in some locations. Unfortunately, the former is one of the most difficult mosquitoes to control owing to its highly anthropophilic behavior.

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Culex mosquitoes are experimentally unable to transmit Zika virus

Cited by 69 publications

References 25 publications

Transmission Incompetence of Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex pipiens pipiens from North America for Zika Virus

Transmission Incompetence of Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex pipiens pipiens from North America for Zika Virus

Vector Competence of American Mosquitoes for Three Strains of Zika Virus

Flavivirus transmission focusing on Zika

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