Past and future epidemic potential of chikungunya virus in Australia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Australia is theoretically at risk of epidemic chikungunya virus (CHIKV) activity as the principal vectors are present on the mainland Aedes aegypti) and some islands of the Torres Strait (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus). Both vectors are highly invasive and adapted to urban environments with a capacity to expand their distributions into south-east Queensland and other states in Australia. We sought to estimate the epidemic potential of CHIKV, which is not currently endemic in Australia, by considering exclusively transmission by the established vector in Australia, Ae. aegypti, due to the historical relevance and anthropophilic nature of the vector.

Methodology/principal findings

We estimated the historical (1995-2019) epidemic potential of CHIKV in eleven Austra

SUBMITTER: White T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8631637 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature