1. Zika virus can be venereally transmitted between Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
- Author
-
Campos SS, Fernandes RS, Dos Santos AAC, de Miranda RM, Telleria EL, Ferreira-de-Brito A, de Castro MG, Failloux AB, Bonaldo MC, and Lourenço-de-Oliveira R
- Subjects
- Animals, Female, Male, Aedes virology, Mosquito Vectors virology, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Zika Virus isolation & purification, Zika Virus Infection transmission
- Abstract
Background: Alternative transmission routes have been described for Zika virus (ZIKV). Here, we assessed for the first time the venereal transmission of ZIKV between Aedes aegypti under laboratory conditions., Results: Orally-infected mosquito females were able to transmit the virus to males venereally, and males inoculated intrathoracically were capable of infecting females during mating. The genome of venereally-transmitted virus recovered from males was identical to that of ZIKV ingested by mated females., Conclusion: We conclude that venereal transmission between Aedes mosquitoes might contribute to Zika virus maintenance in nature.
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF