title: Aedes aegypti from temperate regions of South America are highly competent to transmit dengue virus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aedes aegypti is extensively spread throughout South America where it has been responsible for large dengue epidemics during the last decades. Intriguingly, dengue transmission has not been reported in Uruguay and is essentially prevalent in subtropical northern Argentina which borders Uruguay.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed vector competence for dengue virus (DENV) of Ae. aegypti populations collected in subtropical Argentina (Corrientes) as well as temperate Uruguay (Salto) and Argentina (Buenos Aires) in 2012 using experimental oral infections with DENV-2. Mosquitoes were incubated at 28 °C and examined at 14 and 21 days p.i. to access viral dissemination and transmission. Batches of the Buenos Aires mosquitoes were also incubated at 15 °C and 20 °C.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although mosquitoes from temperate Uruguay and Argentina were competent to transmit DENV, those from subtropical Argentina were more susceptible, displaying the highest virus titters in the head and presenting the highest dissemination of infection and transmission efficiency rates when incubated at 28 °C. Interestingly, infectious viral particles could be detected in saliva of mosquitoes from Buenos Aires exposed to 15 °C and 20 °C.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a potential risk of establishing DENV transmission in Uruguay and for the spread of dengue outbreaks to other parts of subtropical and temperate Argentina, notably during spring and summer periods.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Transmissores de Hematozoários, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Av, Brasil 4365, Rio de Janeiro 21045-900, Brazil. lourenco@ioc.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lourenço-de-Oliveira
authors.forename: Anubis Vega
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Rua
authors.forename: Darío
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vezzani
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Willat
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vazeille
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mousson
authors.forename: Anna Bella
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Failloux
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000821:virology*; D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D013696:Temperature; D014583:Uruguay; D019562:Viral Load