Zika Found in Eggs of Common Backyard Asian Tiger Mosquito

[Gert van der Hoek]

[FONT=&quot]APR 14 2017[/FONT]

by MAGGIE FOX

[FONT=&quot]A common backyard mosquito can be infected with the Zika virus and it may pass the virus along in its eggs, researchers reported Friday.

The findings add to worries that the Asian tiger mosquito, scientifically known as Aedes albopictus, could help spread the virus as mosquito season hits temperate regions of the world.


Estimated range of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in the United States, 2016. CDC

The study, published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, doesn't prove that tiger mosquitoes can spread Zika, which causes severe birth defects. But it adds to evidence that they might.

Chelsea Smartt of the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory and the University of Florida and colleagues hatched eggs from Aedes albopictus mosquitoes gathered during a 2015 outbreak of Zika in Brazil. When they ground up the mosquitoes that grew from those eggs ? male and female ? they found genetic pieces of Zika.

"Our results mean that Aedes albopictus may have a role in Zika virus transmission and should be of concern to public health," Smartt said in a statement.

"This mosquito is found worldwide, has a wide range of hosts and has adapted to colder climates."[/FONT]


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[Gert van der Hoek]

Evidence of Zika Virus RNA Fragments in Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) Field-Collected Eggs From Cama?ari, Bahia, Brazil

[FONT=&quot]J Med Entomol tjx058.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjx058[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]Published:
14 April 2017[/FONT]



A major mosquito-borne viral disease outbreak caused by Zika virus (ZIKV) occurred in Bahia, Brazil, in 2015, largely due to transmission by the mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L.). Detecting ZIKV in field samples of Ae. aegypti has proven problematic in some locations, suggesting other mosquito species might be contributing to the spread of ZIKV.

In this study, several (five) adult Aedes albopictus (Skuse) mosquitoes that emerged from a 2015 field collection of eggs from Cama?ari, Bahia, Brazil, were positive for ZIKV RNA; however, attempts to isolate live virus were not successful.

Results from this study suggest that field-collected Ae. albopictus eggs may contain ZIKV RNA that require further tests for infectious ZIKV.

There is a need to investigate the role of Ae. albopictus in the ZIKV infection process in Brazil and to study the potential presence of vertical and sexual transmission of ZIKV in this species.


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