Zika virus transmission by Brazilian Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus is virus dose and temperature-dependent

Zika virus is an arbovirus that has become endemic in Brazilian territory and in tropical and subtropical countries of the Americas since 2015. The virus is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are widespread in Brazil. To evaluated the influence of temperature and the effect of the infectious dose of ZIKV in vector competence, Brazilian populations of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were orally exposed to different infectious doses, distributed from 102 to 106 PFU / ml and incubated at 22°C and 28°C. We experimentally demonstrated that both populations of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus have the ability to transmit ZIKV when incubated at 28°C, however the infectious dose strongly influenced the proportion of mosquitoes that were able to transmit the virus. Ae. albopictus populations showed low transmission rates when challenged with the highest viral dose, while Ae. aegypti populations are more susceptible, presenting high rates of infection, dissemination and transmission. When incubated at 22°C, Ae. albopictus populations were not able to transmit the virus. Combined, the results indicate that Brazilian populations of Ae. aegypti exhibit a much higher transmission potential for ZIKV than Ae. albopictus.
https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0008527