Evaluation of <i>Aedes aegypti</i>, <i>Aedes albopictus</i>, and <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> Mosquitoes Competence to <i>Oropouche virus</i> Infection
Silvana F. de Mendonça,
Marcele N. Rocha,
Flávia V. Ferreira,
Thiago H. J. F Leite,
Siad C. G. Amadou,
Pedro H. F. Sucupira,
João T. Marques,
Alvaro G. A. Ferreira,
Luciano A. Moreira
Affiliations
Silvana F. de Mendonça
Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor, Instituto René Rachou—Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, MG, Brazil
Marcele N. Rocha
Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor, Instituto René Rachou—Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, MG, Brazil
Flávia V. Ferreira
Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 6627-Pampulha, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil
Thiago H. J. F Leite
Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 6627-Pampulha, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil
Siad C. G. Amadou
Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 6627-Pampulha, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil
Pedro H. F. Sucupira
Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor, Instituto René Rachou—Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, MG, Brazil
João T. Marques
Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 6627-Pampulha, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil
Alvaro G. A. Ferreira
Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor, Instituto René Rachou—Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, MG, Brazil
Luciano A. Moreira
Mosquitos Vetores: Endossimbiontes e Interação Patógeno-Vetor, Instituto René Rachou—Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, MG, Brazil
The emergence of new human viral pathogens and re-emergence of several diseases are of particular concern in the last decades. Oropouche orthobunyavirus (OROV) is an arbovirus endemic to South and Central America tropical regions, responsible to several epidemic events in the last decades. There is little information regarding the ability of OROV to be transmitted by urban/peri-urban mosquitoes, which has limited the predictability of the emergence of permanent urban transmission cycles. Here, we evaluated the ability of OROV to infect, replicate, and be transmitted by three anthropophilic and urban species of mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus. We show that OROV is able to infect and efficiently replicate when systemically injected in all three species tested, but not when orally ingested. Moreover, we find that, once OROV replication has occurred in the mosquito body, all three species were able to transmit the virus to immunocompromised mice during blood feeding. These data provide evidence that OROV is restricted by the midgut barrier of three major urban mosquito species, but, if this restriction is overcome, could be efficiently transmitted to vertebrate hosts. This poses a great risk for the emergence of permanent urban cycles and geographic expansion of OROV to other continents.
