Researchers at QUT and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research
Institute have found that the dengue fever mosquito common to north and central
Queensland poses the greatest danger of spreading the Zika virus in Australia.
The researchers showed that not only
was the dengue mosquito effective at transmitting Zika, but also that the virus
was in the mosquitoes' reproductive organs. This finding suggests that Zika
could persist in mosquito populations by females passing it to their offspring.
The researchers' study, Vector
competence of Australian Aedes aegypti and Aedes
albopictus for an epidemic strain of Zika virus, has been published
in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Key points:
- People can contract Zika from the bite of a
female mosquito carrying the virus
- A woman infected with Zika can pass the virus
to her unborn child causing neurological problems including microcephaly,
when the brain does not develop properly and the baby has a smaller than
normal head
- While more than 50 cases of Zika have been
reported in Australia, all were contracted overseas
The dengue mosquito is found in northern, central and
southern parts of the state, while the Asian Tiger mosquito is currently only
in the Torres Strait.
The researchers tested a strain of
Zika from the Asian lineage that caused microcephaly during the 2016 epidemic
in Brazil.
"At three, seven and 14 days
after the mosquitoes were infected with Zika, we tested their saliva to see if
they could pass on the virus through a bite," she said.
"We concluded that the dengue
mosquito is the main danger for spreading Zika.
"We found 50-60 per cent of the
dengue mosquitoes could effectively transmit the virus 14 days after becoming
infected, compared to 10 per cent of the Asian Tiger mosquitoes."
Dr Frentiu said the discovery of Zika
in the ovaries of the dengue mosquitoes indicated another potential route of
infection transmission through mosquito populations.
"This has also been observed
recently in field specimens collected in Brazil," she said. "Aedes aegypti
eggs were collected and hatched and the larvae tested, and Zika was found in
the larvae.
"It is possible that if infected
larvae were able to reach maturity still infected with Zika, they could then
pass the virus to humans. This is an area where further research is
needed."
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Source: Queensland University of Technology
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