Dengue emergence and adaptation to peridomestic mosquitoes

Abelardo C. Moncayo, Zoraida Fernandez, Diana Ortiz, Mawlouth Diallo, Amadou Sall, Sammie Hartman, C. Todd Davis, Lark Coffey, Christian C. Mathiot, Robert B. Tesh, Scott C. Weaver

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Scopus citations

Abstract

Phylogenetic evidence suggests that endemic and epidemic dengue viruses (DENV), transmitted among humans by the anthropophilic mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, emerged when ancestral, sylvatic DENV transmitted among nonhuman primates by sylvatic Aedes mosquitoes adapted to these peridomestic vectors. We tested this hypothesis by retrospectively examining evidence for adaptation of epidemic and endemic versus sylvatic strains of DENV-2 to Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti. First and second-generation offspring of mosquitoes from different geographic regions in the Americas and Southeast Asia were tested for their susceptibility to epidemic/endemic and sylvatic DENV-2 isolates from West Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Both Aedes species were highly susceptible (up to 100% infected) to endemic/epidemic DENV-2 strains after ingesting artificial blood meals but significantly less susceptible (as low as 0%) to sylvatic DENV-2 strains. Our findings support the hypothesis that adaptation to peridomestic mosquito vectors mediated dengue emergence from sylvatic progenitor viruses.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1790-1796
Number of pages7
JournalEmerging infectious diseases
Volume10
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2004

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology
  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

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