niman Posted August 30, 2016 Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 Vertical Transmission of Zika Virus in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes http://www.ajtmh.org/content/early/2016/08/23/ajtmh.16-0448 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niman Posted August 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 Saravanan Thangamani1, Jing Huang1, Charles E. Hart1, Hilda Guzman1 and Robert B. Tesh1,* -Author Affiliations 1Department of Pathology, Institute for Human Infection and Immunity, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas. -Author Notes Authors' addresses: Saravanan Thangamani, Jing Huang, Charles E. Hart, Hilda Guzman, and Robert B. Tesh, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, E-mails:[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],[email protected], and [email protected]. ↵* Address correspondence to Robert B. Tesh, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0609. E-mail: [email protected] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niman Posted August 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 Abstract Previous experimental studies have demonstrated that a number of mosquito-borne flavivirus pathogens are vertically transmitted in their insect vectors, providing a mechanism for these arboviruses to persist during adverse climatic conditions or in the absence of a susceptible vertebrate host. In this study, designed to test whether Zika virus (ZIKV) could be vertically transmitted, female Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus were injected with ZIKV, and their F1 adult progeny were tested for ZIKV infection. Of 69 Ae. aegypti pools, six consisted of a total of 1,738 F1 adults, yielded ZIKV upon culture, giving a minimum filial infection rate of 1:290. In contrast, none of 803 F1 Ae. albopictus adults (32 pools) yielded ZIKV. The MFIR for Ae. aegypti was comparable to MFIRs reported for other flaviviruses in mosquitoes, including dengue, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever, West Nile, and St. Louis encephalitis viruses. The results suggest that vertical transmission may provide a potential mechanism for the virus to survive during adverse conditions. Footnotes Financial support: This work was supported in part by NIH grant R24 AI 120942. Received June 6, 2016. Accepted August 1, 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niman Posted August 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niman Posted August 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 Mosquitoes carrying Zika can hand down virus to offspring, study shows By HELEN BRANSWELL @HelenBranswell AUGUST 29, 2016 Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Republish Print Like a physical trait or a family heirloom, the Zika virus can be handed down by an infected female mosquito to some of her offspring, a new study shows. The study, by scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, confirms that so-called vertical transmission of the virus occurs in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the main species responsible for the spread of Zika. But vertical transmission doesn’t always happen. In fact, the research suggests it only occurs at a rate of 1 in every 300 mosquitoes. Still, given that mosquito populations are massive, that rate of transmission probably is frequent enough to allow the virus to persist in places where a period of adverse weather conditions — a stretch of dry or cold weather — kills off adult mosquitoes, said Dr. Robert Tesh, director of the World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses, housed at the university. “I don’t think it’s going to change the epidemiology of the disease,” said Tesh, who is the senior author of the paper, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. “The only thing it means is that it’s possible that the virus could survive [in a location] say from one season to the next.” Joseph Conlon, a retired Navy entomologist who is now technical adviser for theAmerican Mosquito Control Association, agreed with Tesh’s read of the situation. Conlon said in the United States, Zika’s spread is more likely to be driven by people returning home from Zika-affected cities and towns than by vertical transmission in mosquitoes. “We’re going to have continual reintroduction of this virus in people. They’re the main problem. People coming in,” he said. Many viruses related to Zika and spread by Aedes mosquitoes are transmitted from mother to offspring in this way. To test whether the same kind of transmission occurred with Zika, Tesh’s team injected the virus into the gut of female mosquitoes. After the mosquitoes mated and laid their eggs, the eggs were hatched and tested for the presence of the virus. The group studied both Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — in which vertical transmission was seen at a rate of one per 290 offspring — and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. It’s not clear if the latter species plays a role in the transmission of Zika in a real world setting, though they can be infected with the virus in a lab. Tesh’s team did not see vertical transmission with albopictus mosquitoes, but tested fewer of them. He suggested, based on the numbers, scientists cannot rule out that vertical transmission could happen in that species. Conlon said the fact that vertical transmission occurs adds another layer of complexity to controlling these already hard-to-control mosquitoes. He suggested a multipronged approach is needed, one that is grounded in changing the public’s attitudes toward mosquitoes. “The fact is when we allow trash to accumulate and water to get into the trash to grow these Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, we’re part of the problem,” he said. “We have to make it socially unacceptable, kind of like we did with smoking.” Helen Branswell can be reached at [email protected] Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenBranswell https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/29/mosquito-zika-virus-transmission/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like a physical trait or a family heirloom, the Zika virus can be handed down by an infected female mosquito to some of her offspring, a new study shows. The study, by scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, confirms that so-called vertical transmission of the virus occurs in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the main species responsible for the spread of Zika. But vertical transmission doesn’t always happen. In fact, the research suggests it only occurs at a rate of 1 in every 300 mosquitoes. Still, given that mosquito populations are massive, that rate of transmission probably is frequent enough to allow the virus to persist in places where a period of adverse weather conditions — a stretch of dry or cold weather — kills off adult mosquitoes, said Dr. Robert Tesh, director of the World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses, housed at the university. “I don’t think it’s going to change the epidemiology of the disease,” said Tesh, who is the senior author of the paper, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. “The only thing it means is that it’s possible that the virus could survive [in a location] say from one season to the next.” Joseph Conlon, a retired Navy entomologist who is now technical adviser for theAmerican Mosquito Control Association, agreed with Tesh’s read of the situation. Conlon said in the United States, Zika’s spread is more likely to be driven by people returning home from Zika-affected cities and towns than by vertical transmission in mosquitoes. “We’re going to have continual reintroduction of this virus in people. They’re the main problem. People coming in,” he said. Many viruses related to Zika and spread by Aedes mosquitoes are transmitted from mother to offspring in this way. To test whether the same kind of transmission occurred with Zika, Tesh’s team injected the virus into the gut of female mosquitoes. After the mosquitoes mated and laid their eggs, the eggs were hatched and tested for the presence of the virus. The group studied both Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — in which vertical transmission was seen at a rate of one per 290 offspring — and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. It’s not clear if the latter species plays a role in the transmission of Zika in a real world setting, though they can be infected with the virus in a lab. Tesh’s team did not see vertical transmission with albopictus mosquitoes, but tested fewer of them. He suggested, based on the numbers, scientists cannot rule out that vertical transmission could happen in that species. Conlon said the fact that vertical transmission occurs adds another layer of complexity to controlling these already hard-to-control mosquitoes. He suggested a multipronged approach is needed, one that is grounded in changing the public’s attitudes toward mosquitoes. “The fact is when we allow trash to accumulate and water to get into the trash to grow these Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, we’re part of the problem,” he said. “We have to make it socially unacceptable, kind of like we did with smoking.” Helen Branswell can be reached at [email protected] Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenBranswell https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/29/mosquito-zika-virus-transmission/
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