Limited risk of Zika virus transmission by five Aedes albopictus populations from Spain

Background: Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, is an exotic invasive species in Europe. It has substantial public health relevance due to its potential role in transmitting several human pathogens. Out of the European coun‑ tries, Spain has one of the highest risk levels of autochthonous arbovirus transmission due to both the high density of Ae. albopictus and the extensive tourist infux from vector-endemic areas. This study aims to investigate the suscep‑ tibility of fve Ae. albopictus populations from mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands to a Brazilian Zika virus (ZIKV) strain. Methods: The F1 generation of each Ae. albopictus population was orally challenged with a ZIKV-infected blood meal (1.8×106 PFU/ml). At 7 and 14 days post-infection (dpi), mosquito bodies (thorax and abdomen) and heads were individually analysed through RT-qPCR to determine the infection rate (IR) and dissemination rate (DR), respectively. The saliva of infected mosquitoes was inoculated in Vero cells and the transmission rate was assessed by plaque assay or RT-qPCR on ~33 individuals per population. Results: The IR and DR ranged between 12–88%, and 0–60%, respectively, suggesting that ZIKV is capable of cross‑ ing the midgut barrier. Remarkably, no infectious viral particle was found in saliva samples, indicating a low ability of ZIKV to overcome the salivary gland barrier. A subsequent assay revealed that a second non-infective blood meal 48 h after ZIKV exposure did not infuence Ae. albopictus vector competence. Conclusions: The oral experimental ZIKV infections performed here indicate that Ae. albopictus from Spain become infected and disseminate the virus through the body but has a limited ability to transmit the Brazilian ZIKV strain through biting. Therefore, the results suggest a limited risk of autochthonous ZIKV transmission in Spain by Ae. albopictusinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

GEOTECHNOLOGIES APPLIED TO DISEASE RISK ANALYSIS RELATED TO THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE UPPER PARAGUAI WATERSHED, FROM 2007 TO 2011

Diseases transmitted by vectors are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Brazil and in the World, being frequently limited by environmental variables. The objective of this study is to apply geotechnologies to evaluate the infection risk by vector diseases in the municipalities of the Upper Paraguai Watershed in the period 2007 to 2011. Information on notifications from Dengue, Schistosomiasis, American cutaneous leishmaniasis, Visceral leishmaniasis and Malaria, were used. A medium detection coefficient was formulated for each disease during the years under study and the Index on Priority of Attention to classify the risk of illness from the local population. It was found out that Dengue presented high to very high Indices on Priority of Attention, followed by American cutaneous leishmaniasis, Visceral leishmaniasis, Malaria and Schistosomiasis. For the environmental variables 56 municipalities were identified with more than 50% of its areas devoid of vegetation cover and 31 with deforested áreas above 80%. The highest temperatures registered occurred in the municipalities of the Upper Paraguai Watershed in Mato Grosso state. One must consider that there are many factors which influence the dynamics of diseases transmitted by vectors, but the impacts generated by human action on the environment enable a higher risk to infection within the populatio

Zika vector competence data reveals risks of outbreaks: the contribution of the European ZIKAlliance project

First identified in 1947, Zika virus took roughly 70 years to cause a pandemic unusually associated with virus-induced brain damage in newborns. Zika virus is transmitted by mosquitoes, mainly Aedes aegypti, and secondarily, Aedes albopictus, both colonizing a large strip encompassing tropical and temperate regions. As part of the international project ZIKAlliance initiated in 2016, 50 mosquito populations from six species collected in 12 countries were experimentally infected with different Zika viruses. Here, we show that Ae. aegypti is mainly responsible for Zika virus transmission having the highest susceptibility to viral infections. Other species play a secondary role in transmission while Culex mosquitoes are largely non-susceptible. Zika strain is expected to significantly modulate transmission efficiency with African strains being more likely to cause an outbreak. As the distribution of Ae. aegypti will doubtless expand with climate change and without new marketed vaccines, all the ingredients are in place to relive a new pandemic of Zika

Zika vector competence data reveals risks of outbreaks: the contribution of the European ZIKAlliance project

First identified in 1947, Zika virus took roughly 70 years to cause a pandemic unusually associated with virus-induced brain damage in newborns. Zika virus is transmitted by mosquitoes, mainly Aedes aegypti, and secondarily, Aedes albopictus, both colonizing a large strip encompassing tropical and temperate regions. As part of the international project ZIKAlliance initiated in 2016, 50 mosquito populations from six species collected in 12 countries were experimentally infected with different Zika viruses. Here, we show that Ae. aegypti is mainly responsible for Zika virus transmission having the highest susceptibility to viral infections. Other species play a secondary role in transmission while Culex mosquitoes are largely non-susceptible. Zika strain is expected to significantly modulate transmission efficiency with African strains being more likely to cause an outbreak. As the distribution of Ae. aegypti will doubtless expand with climate change and without new marketed vaccines, all the ingredients are in place to relive a new pandemic of Zika.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Risco da dengue nos municípios pantaneiros de Mato Grosso, Brasil

The aim of this study is to analyze the risk of transmission, via time/spatial model, of the confirmed cases of dengue in the municipalities belonging to the Pantanal of Mato Grosso. We considered the cases of dengue confirmed and the original inhabitant recorded in the period from 2009 to 2011 at the Information System forNotifiable Diseases (SINAN) in the epidemiological Vigilance – Cuiabá and the Cáceres Regional Health. Three measures of risk time/spatial were used: frequency, duration and intensity, managed in the software ArcGIS 9.2, ESRI. Moran´s Global and Local index were used to evaluate the spatial autocorrelation of the three index. Inthe period studied, the cities of Cáceres, Poconé, Santo Antônio de Leverger and Nossa Senhora do Livramento presented the highest rates of frequency, duration and intensity, however, Cáceres showed the highest risk of the disease. Moran´s Global Index showed low correlation and Moran´s Local Index showed clusters in somecities according to the index used. These indexes may be useful in the authorities decision and public health.Key words: geo, geohealth, epidemiology, Pantanal Biome.Este artigo tem o objetivo de analisar o risco de transmissão da dengue, por meio do modelo tempo-espacial, nos municípios do Pantanal mato-grossense. Foram considerados os casos de dengue confirmados e autóctones registrados no período de 2009 a 2011 no Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (Sinan) da Vigilância epidemiológica de Cuiabá/MT e na Secretaria Regional de Saúde de Cáceres/MT. Estas três medidas de risco tempo-espacial foram utilizadas: frequência, duração e intensidade, operacionalizadas no software ArcGis 9.2, da Esri. O índice de Moran Global e o índice de Moran Local foram usados para avaliar a autocorrelação espacial dos três índices. No período estudado, os municípios de Cáceres, Poconé, Santo Antônio do Leverger e de Nossa Senhora do Livramento apresentaram os maiores índices de frequência, duração e intensidade; contudo, Cáceres foi o que apresentou maiores riscos da endemia. O índice de Moran Global apresentou baixa correlação e o índice de Moran Local apresentou aglomerados em alguns municípios, de acordo com o índice utilizado. Estes índices podem ser úteis nas tomadas de decisão das autoridades e da saúde pública.Palavras-chave: geotecnologias, geossaúde, epidemiologia, Bioma Pantanal.Este estudio tuvo como objetivo, analizar el riesgo de transmisión del dengue a partir de casos confirmados en los municipios pertenecientes al Pantanal del estado de Mato Grosso, utilizando un modelo temporo-espacial. Considerando los casos confirmados de dengue autóctono registrados en el período de 2009 a 2011 por elSistema de Información de Casos Graves de Notificación (SINAN), perteneciente a la Vigilancia Epidemiológica de la ciudad de Cuiabá y a la Secretaría Regional de Salud de Cáceres, fueron aplicadas tres medidas de riesgo temporo-espacial: frequencia, duración e intensidad, operacionalizadas en el software ArcGis 9.2. Los índicesMoran Global y Moran Local se utilizaron para evaluar la autocorrelación espacial de los tres índices. Como resultado se evidenció que, en el período estudiado, los municipios de Cáceres, Poconé, Santo Antônio do Leverger y Nossa Senhora do Livramento presentaron los mayores índices de frequencia, duración e intensidad,siendo Cáceres el de mayores riesgos de epidemia. El índice de Moran Global presentó una baja correlación y el de Moran Local presentó aglomerados en algunos municipios. Estos índices pueden ser útiles en la toma de decisiones de las autoridades de salud pública.Palabras clave: geo, geosaúde, epidemiología, Bioma Pantanal

Culex quinquefasciatus from areas with the highest incidence of microcephaly associated with Zika virus infections in the Northeast Region of Brazil are refractory to the virus

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2017-10-10T13:28:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ROSILAYNY_FERNANDES_ETAL_IOC_2017.PDF: 205188 bytes, checksum: b457ccde6d4eb3d26a1c6b78eb7bef9c (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2017-10-10T13:34:53Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ROSILAYNY_FERNANDES_ETAL_IOC_2017.PDF: 205188 bytes, checksum: b457ccde6d4eb3d26a1c6b78eb7bef9c (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-10T13:34:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ROSILAYNY_FERNANDES_ETAL_IOC_2017.PDF: 205188 bytes, checksum: b457ccde6d4eb3d26a1c6b78eb7bef9c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Mosquitos Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Mosquitos Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Mosquitos Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Flavivírus. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Flavivírus. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Mosquitos Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Zika virus (ZIKV) is widely distributed in Brazil and the Northeast Region (NE) is the most affected zone, showing the highest incidence of microcephaly associated with ZIKV congenital infections worldwide. We report attempts to infect three populations of Culex quinquefasciatus from severely affected sites in the NE and Southeast Region (SE) of Brazil with three strains of ZIKV isolated from these localities. An Aedes aegypti population from the SE was used as a positive control. All tested Cx. quinquefasciatus populations were refractory to the ZIKV isolates. For these reasons, we believe Cx. quinquefasciatus should not be considered a potential vector of ZIKV in Brazil

Vector Competence of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus from Brazil and New Caledonia for Three Zika Virus Lineages

International audienceZika virus (ZIKV) has caused severe epidemics in South America beginning in 2015, following its spread through the Pacific. We comparatively assessed the vector competence of ten populations of Aedesaegypti and Ae. albopictus from Brazil and two of Ae.aegypti and one of Culex quinquefasciatus from New Caledonia to transmit three ZIKV isolates belonging to African, Asian and American lineages. Recently colonized mosquitoes from eight distinct sites from both countries were orally challenged with the same viral load (107 TCID50/mL) and examined after 7, 14 and 21 days. Cx. quinquefasciatus was refractory to infection with all virus strains. In contrast, although competence varied with geographical origin, Brazilian and New Caledonian Ae. aegypti could transmit the three ZIKV lineages, with a strong advantage for the African lineage (the only one reaching saliva one-week after challenge). Brazilian Ae. albopictus populations were less competent than Ae. aegypti populations. Ae. albopictus generally exhibited almost no transmission for Asian and American lineages, but was efficient in transmitting the African ZIKV. Viral surveillance and mosquito control measures must be strengthened to avoid the spread of new ZIKV lineages and minimize the transmission of viruses currently circulating

Limited risk of Zika virus transmission by five Aedes albopictus populations from Spain

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2019-09-05T15:11:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RafaelFreitas_MarianaDavid_etal_IOC_2019.pdf: 1366827 bytes, checksum: b8cc8d308222a6391e081f1f0e1f8bb8 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2019-09-05T15:23:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 RafaelFreitas_MarianaDavid_etal_IOC_2019.pdf: 1366827 bytes, checksum: b8cc8d308222a6391e081f1f0e1f8bb8 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2019-09-05T15:23:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RafaelFreitas_MarianaDavid_etal_IOC_2019.pdf: 1366827 bytes, checksum: b8cc8d308222a6391e081f1f0e1f8bb8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019NEIKER-Instituto Vasco de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario. Derio, Bizkaia, Spain / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Mosquitos Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Mosquitos Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Mosquitos Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. IRTA, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA, IRTA-UAB), Bellaterra, Spain.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Mosquitos Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Mosquitos Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.NEIKER-Instituto Vasco de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario. Derio, Bizkaia, Spain.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Mosquitos Transmissores de Hematozoários. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, is an exotic invasive species in Europe. It has substantial public health relevance due to its potential role in transmitting several human pathogens. Out of the European countries, Spain has one of the highest risk levels of autochthonous arbovirus transmission due to both the high density of Ae. albopictus and the extensive tourist influx from vector-endemic areas. This study aims to investigate the susceptibility of five Ae. albopictus populations from mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands to a Brazilian Zika virus (ZIKV) strain. Methods: The F1 generation of each Ae. albopictus population was orally challenged with a ZIKV-infected blood meal (1.8×106 PFU/ml). At 7 and 14 days post-infection (dpi), mosquito bodies (thorax and abdomen) and heads were individually analysed through RT-qPCR to determine the infection rate (IR) and dissemination rate (DR), respectively. The saliva of infected mosquitoes was inoculated in Vero cells and the transmission rate was assessed by plaque assay or RT-qPCR on ~33 individuals per population. Results: The IR and DR ranged between 12–88%, and 0–60%, respectively, suggesting that ZIKV is capable of crossing the midgut barrier. Remarkably, no infectious viral particle was found in saliva samples, indicating a low ability of ZIKV to overcome the salivary gland barrier. A subsequent assay revealed that a second non-infective blood meal 48 h after ZIKV exposure did not infuence Ae. albopictus vector competence. Conclusions: The oral experimental ZIKV infections performed here indicate that Ae. albopictus from Spain become infected and disseminate the virus through the body but has a limited ability to transmit the Brazilian ZIKV strain through biting. Therefore, the results suggest a limited risk of autochthonous ZIKV transmission in Spain by Ae. albopictus

Author Correction: Low vector competence in sylvatic mosquitoes limits Zika virus to initiate an enzootic cycle in South America

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

First detection of natural infection of Aedes aegypti with Zika virus in Brazil and throughout South America

Zika virus (ZIKV) has caused a major epidemic in Brazil and several other American countries. ZIKV is an arbovirus whose natural vectors during epidemics have been poorly determined. In this study, 1,683 mosquitoes collected in the vicinity of ZIKV suspected cases in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 2015 to May 2016 were screened for natural infection by using molecular methods. Three pools of Aedes aegypti were found with the ZIKV genome, one of which had only one male. This finding supports the occurrence of vertical and/or venereal transmission of ZIKV in Ae. aegypti in nature. None of the examined Ae. albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus was positive. This is the first report of natural infection by ZIKV in mosquitoes in Brazil and other South American countries. So far, Ae. aegypti is the only confirmed vector of ZIKV during the ongoing Pan-American epidemics