title: Vector competence of the Aedes aegypti population from Santiago Island, Cape Verde, to different serotypes of dengue virus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dengue is an arboviral disease caused by dengue virus (DENV), whose main vectors are the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. A. aegypti is the only DENV vector in Cape Verde, an African country that suffered its first outbreak of dengue in 2009. However, little is known about the variation in the level of vector competence of this mosquito population to the different DENV serotypes. This study aimed to evaluate the vector competence of A. aegypti from the island of Santiago, Cape Verde, to four DENV serotypes and to detect DENV vertical transmission.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mosquitoes were fed on blood containing DENV serotypes and were dissected at 7, 14 and 21 days post-infection (dpi) to detect the virus in the midgut, head and salivary glands (SG) using RT-PCR. Additionally, the number of copies of viral RNA present in the SG was determined by qRT-PCR. Furthermore, eggs were collected in the field and adult mosquitoes obtained were analyzed by RT-PCR and the platelia dengue NS1 antigen kit to detect transovarial transmission.
  
  
  RESULTS
  High rates of SG infection were observed for DENV-2 and DENV-3 whereas for DENV-1, viral RNA was only detected in the midgut and head. DENV-4 did not spread to the head or SG, maintaining the infection only in the midgut. The number of viral RNA copies in the SG did not vary significantly between DENV-2 and DENV-3 or among the different periods of incubation and the various titers of DENV tested. With respect to DENV surveillance in mosquitoes obtained from the eggs collected in the field, no samples were positive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although no DENV positive samples were collected from the field in 2014, it is important to highlight that the A. aegypti population from Santiago Islands exhibited different degrees of susceptibility to DENV serotypes. This population showed a high vector competence for DENV-2 and DENV-3 strains and a low susceptibility to DENV-1 and DENV-4. Viral RNA copies in the SG remained constant for at least 21 dpi, which may enhance the vector capacity of A. aegypti and suggests the presence of a mechanism modulating virus replication in the SG.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães (CPqAM), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz- PE, Brasil. aires_fm@hotmail.com.|Unidade de Ciências da Natureza, da Vida e do Ambiente, Universidade Jean Piaget, Cape Verde. aires_fm@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Aires Januário Fernandes
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: da Moura
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães (CPqAM), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz- PE, Brasil. mavarjal@cpqam.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Maria Alice Varjal
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Melo Santos
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães (CPqAM), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz- PE, Brasil. claudia@cpqam.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Claudia Maria Fontes
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães (CPqAM), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz- PE, Brasil. duschinka@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Duschinka Ribeiro Duarte
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Guedes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães (CPqAM), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz- PE, Brasil. carvalho_bio@hotmail.com.|Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal, Recife, Brasil. carvalho_bio@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Carvalho-Leandro
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Ciências da Natureza, da Vida e do Ambiente, Universidade Jean Piaget, Cape Verde. lidiabrito03@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria Lidia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: da Cruz Brito
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães (CPqAM), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz- PE, Brasil. heliorocha4@gmail.com.|Unidade de Ciências da Natureza, da Vida e do Ambiente, Universidade Jean Piaget, Cape Verde. heliorocha4@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hélio Daniel Ribeiro
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Ciências da Natureza, da Vida e do Ambiente, Universidade Jean Piaget, Cape Verde. lara.ferrero.gomez@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lara Ferrero
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães (CPqAM), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz- PE, Brasil. tans@cpqam.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Constância Flávia Junqueira
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Ayres
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000821:virology*; D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D055726:Cabo Verde / Q000453:epidemiology; D002460:Cell Line; D003715:Dengue / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology*; D062312:Islands; D008297:Male; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000821:virology; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral