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Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen that caused a large outbreak in the Americas in 2015 and 2016. The virus is currently present in tropical areas around the globe and can cause severe disease in humans, including Guillain-Barré syndrome and congenital microcephaly. The tropical yellow fever mosquito,  Aedes aegypti , is the main vector in the urban transmission cycles of ZIKV. The discovery of ZIKV in wild-caught  Culex  mosquitoes and the ability of  Culex quinquefasciatus  mosquitoes to transmit ZIKV in the laboratory raised the question of whether the common house mosquito  Culex pipiens , which is abundantly present in temperate regions in North America, Asia and Europe, could also be involved in ZIKV transmission. In this study, we investigated the vector competence of  Cx. pipiens  (biotypes  molestus  and  pipiens ) from the Netherlands for ZIKV, using Usutu virus as a control. After an infectious blood meal containing ZIKV, none of the tested mosquitoes accumulated ZIKV in the saliva, although 2% of the  Cx. pipiens pipiens  mosquitoes showed ZIKV–positive bodies. To test the barrier function of the mosquito midgut on virus transmission, ZIKV was forced into  Cx. pipiens  mosquitoes by intrathoracic injection, resulting in 74% ( molestus ) and 78% ( pipiens ) ZIKV–positive bodies. Strikingly, 14% ( molestus ) and 7% ( pipiens ) of the tested mosquitoes accumulated ZIKV in the saliva after injection. This is the first demonstration of ZIKV accumulation in the saliva of  Cx. pipiens  upon forced infection. Nevertheless, a strong midgut barrier restricted virus dissemination in the mosquito after oral exposure and we, therefore, consider  Cx. pipiens  as a highly inefficient vector for ZIKV.

Forced Zika Virus Infection of Culex pipiens Leads to Limited Virus Accumulation in Mosquito Saliva