Zika virus: An updated review of competent or naturally infected mosquitoes

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) that recently caused outbreaks in the Americas. Over the past 60 years, this virus has been observed circulating among African, Asian, and Pacific Island populations, but little attention has been paid by the scientific community until the discovery that large-scale urban ZIKV outbreaks were associated with neurological complications such as microcephaly and several other neurological malformations in fetuses and newborns. This paper is a systematic review intended to list all mosquito species studied for ZIKV infection or for their vector competence. We discuss whether studies on ZIKV vectors have brought enough evidence to formally exclude other mosquitoes than Aedes species (and particularly Aedes aegypti) to be ZIKV vectors. From 1952 to August 15, 2017, ZIKV has been studied in 53 mosquito species, including 6 Anopheles, 26 Aedes, 11 Culex, 2 Lutzia, 3 Coquillettidia, 2 Mansonia, 2 Eretmapodites, and 1 Uranotaenia. Among those, ZIKV was isolated from 16 different Aedes species. The only species other than Aedes genus for which ZIKV was isolated were Anopheles coustani, Anopheles gambiae, Culex perfuscus, and Mansonia uniformis. Vector competence assays were performed on 22 different mosquito species, including 13 Aedes, 7 Culex, and 2 Anopheles species with, as a result, the discovery that A. aegypti and Aedes albopictus were competent for ZIKV, as well as some other Aedes species, and that there was a controversy surrounding Culex quinquefasciatus competence. Although Culex, Anopheles, and most of Aedes species were generally observed to be refractory to ZIKV infection, other potential vectors transmitting ZIKV should be explored.

European and tropical Aedes albopictus mosquito populations have similar systemic Zika virus infection dynamics

“…While Aedes hensilli was strongly suspected to transmit ZIKV during the Yap island outbreak 7 , the species Aedes aegypti was incriminated in all major outbreaks that have occurred in the Pacific Ocean, Brazil or the Caribbean, especially in urban transmissions 42 .…”

Artrópodos vectores en España y sus enfermedades transmisibles

“…En España solo se han comunicado casos importados 14 . Este mosquito (junto a Aedes aegypti que, como se detallará más adelante, ha sido detectado de forma puntual en Europa) puede actuar como vector del virus del dengue y con menos efectividad del virus Zika 15 . En Francia, A. albopictus fue el responsable de los primeros casos autóctonos de dengue 16 y de los que se declararon en ese mismo país en los años siguientes, uno de ellos con antecedente de viaje a Madeira, donde se había declarado un gran brote (más de mil casos) entre 2012-13 17 .…”

Arthropods as vectors of transmissible diseases in Spain

“…14 This mosquito (next to Aedes aegypti which, as will be detailed later, has been detected in a timely manner in Europe) can act as a vector of the dengue virus and with less effectiveness of the Zika virus. 15 In France, A. albopictus was responsible for the first autochthonous cases of dengue 16 and of those reported in the same country during the following years, one of them with a history of travel to Madeira, where a large outbreak had been reported (more than a thousand cases) between 2012 and 2013. 17 In 2011, the occurrence of autochthonous cases of dengue in Croatia were also attributed to A. albopictus, establishing the transmission by this mosquito in Europe.…”