Zika virus outbreak in the Pacific: Vector competence of regional vectors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In 2013, Zika virus (ZIKV) emerged in French Polynesia and spread through the Pacific region between 2013 and 2017. Several potential Aedes mosquitoes may have contributed to the ZIKV transmission including Aedes aegypti, the main arbovirus vector in the region, and Aedes polynesiensis, vector of lymphatic filariasis and secondary vector of dengue virus. The aim of this study was to analyze the ability of these two Pacific vectors to transmit ZIKV at a regional scale, through the evaluation and comparison of the vector competence of wild Ae. aegypti and Ae. polynesiensis populations from different Pacific islands for a ZIKV strain which circulated in this region during the 2013-2017 outbreak.

Methodology/principal findings

Field Ae. aegypti (three populations) and

SUBMITTER: Calvez E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6063428 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature