Impact of Chikungunya virus on Aedes albopictus females and possibility of vertical transmission using the actors of the 2007 outbreak in Italy.

ABSTRACT: We investigated the impact of CHIKV strains on some Aedes albopictus (Skuse) reproductive parameters and the possibility of vertical transmission. Two strains were collected in the area where the epidemic occurred in 2007, one isolated from mosquitoes, the other one isolated from a viraemic patient. Different types of blood meals, either infected or non-infected, were offered to Ae. albopictus females, that were then analyzed at increasing time post infection. The virus titre, measured by two RT-PCR methods in the blood meals, influenced the rate of infection and the rate of dissemination of CHIKV in Ae. albopictus body. We found individual variability with respect to the infection/dissemination rates and their latency both considering the female's body and appendages. The hatching rate wa

SUBMITTER: Bellini R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3287980 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature