Open AccessThe recently introduced Aedes albopictus in Tunisia has the potential to transmit chikungunya, dengue and Zika viruses
Author(s) -
Chloé Bohers,
Laurence Mousson,
Yoann Madec,
Marie Vazeille,
Adel Rhim,
Youmna M’ghirbi,
Ali Bouattour,
AnnaBella Failloux
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos neglected tropical diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.99
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1935-2735
pISSN - 1935-2727
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008475
Subject(s) - chikungunya , aedes albopictus , dengue fever , virology , zika virus , dengue virus , biology , vector (molecular biology) , transmission (telecommunications) , arbovirus , population , aedes , outbreak , aedes aegypti , virus , medicine , environmental health , ecology , larva , electrical engineering , recombinant dna , biochemistry , engineering , gene
The mosquito Aedes albopictus was detected for the first time in Tunisia in 2018. With its establishment in the capital city of Tunis, local health authorities fear the introduction of new human arboviral diseases, like what happened in Europe with unexpected local cases of chikungunya, dengue and Zika. Even though this mosquito is competent to transmit the arboviruses mentioned above, the transmission level will vary depending on the couple, mosquito population and virus genotype. Here, we assessed the vector competence of Ae . albopictus Tunisia by experimental infections with chikungunya (CHIKV), dengue (DENV), and Zika (ZIKV) viruses. We found that Ae . albopictus Tunisia was highly competent for CHIKV (transmission efficiency of 25% at 21 post-infection) and to a lesser extent, for ZIKV (8.7%) and DENV (8.3%). Virus was detected in mosquito saliva at day 3 (CHIKV), day 10 (ZIKV) and day 21 (DENV) post-infection. These results suggest that the risk of emergence of chikungunya is the highest imposing a more sustained surveillance to limit Ae . albopictus populations in densely populated urban dwellings and at the entry points of travelers returning from CHIKV-endemic regions.