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. 2016 May 4;10(5):e0004694.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004694. eCollection 2016 May.

Vector Competence of Aedes aegypti and Aedes polynesiensis Populations from French Polynesia for Chikungunya Virus

Vaea Richard  1 , Tuterarii Paoaafaite  1 , Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau  1
Affiliations

Vector Competence of Aedes aegypti and Aedes polynesiensis Populations from French Polynesia for Chikungunya Virus

Vaea Richard et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

Background: From October 2014 to March 2015, French Polynesia experienced for the first time a chikungunya outbreak. Two Aedes mosquitoes may have contributed to chikungunya virus (CHIKV) transmission in French Polynesia: the worldwide distributed Ae. aegypti and the Polynesian islands-endemic Ae. polynesiensis mosquito.

Methods: To investigate the vector competence of French Polynesian populations of Ae. aegypti and Ae. polynesiensis for CHIKV, mosquitoes were exposed per os at viral titers of 7 logs tissue culture infectious dose 50%. At 2, 6, 9, 14 and 21 days post-infection (dpi), saliva was collected from each mosquito and inoculated onto C6/36 mosquito cells to check for the presence of CHIKV infectious particles. Legs and body (thorax and abdomen) of each mosquito were also collected at the different dpi and submitted separately to viral RNA extraction and CHIKV real-time RT-PCR.

Results: CHIKV infection rate, dissemination and transmission efficiencies ranged from 7-90%, 18-78% and 5-53% respectively for Ae. aegypti and from 39-41%, 3-17% and 0-14% respectively for Ae. polynesiensis, depending on the dpi. Infectious saliva was found as early as 2 dpi for Ae. aegypti and from 6 dpi for Ae. polynesiensis. Our laboratory results confirm that the French Polynesian population of Ae. aegypti is highly competent for CHIKV and they provide clear evidence for Ae. polynesiensis to act as an efficient CHIKV vector.

Conclusion: As supported by our findings, the presence of two CHIKV competent vectors in French Polynesia certainly contributed to enabling this virus to quickly disseminate from the urban/peri-urban areas colonized by Ae. aegypti to the most remote atolls where Ae. polynesiensis is predominating. Ae. polynesiensis was probably involved in the recent chikungunya outbreaks in Samoa and the Cook Islands. Moreover, this vector may contribute to the risk for CHIKV to emerge in other Polynesian islands like Fiji, and more particularly Wallis where there is no Ae. aegypti.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Progression trends of CHIKV dissemination and transmission efficiencies in Ae. aegypti and Ae. polynesiensis.
Statistically significant differences between two successive days post-infection are shown by asterisks (** = p<0.01). CHIKV dissemination efficiency showed a dramatic increase in Ae. aegypti from 6 to 9 dpi.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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