title: Chikungunya virus transmission potential by local Aedes mosquitoes in the Americas and Europe.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), mainly transmitted in urban areas by the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, constitutes a major public health problem. In late 2013, CHIKV emerged on Saint-Martin Island in the Caribbean and spread throughout the region reaching more than 40 countries. Thus far, Ae. aegypti mosquitoes have been implicated as the sole vector in the outbreaks, leading to the hypothesis that CHIKV spread could be limited only to regions where this mosquito species is dominant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We determined the ability of local populations of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus from the Americas and Europe to transmit the CHIKV strain of the Asian genotype isolated from Saint-Martin Island (CHIKV_SM) during the recent epidemic, and an East-Central-South African (ECSA) genotype CHIKV strain isolated from La Réunion Island (CHIKV_LR) as a well-characterized control virus. We also evaluated the effect of temperature on transmission of CHIKV_SM by European Ae. albopictus. We found that (i) Aedes aegypti from Saint-Martin Island transmit CHIKV_SM and CHIKV_LR with similar efficiency, (ii) Ae. aegypti from the Americas display similar transmission efficiency for CHIKV_SM, (iii) American and European populations of the alternative vector species Ae. albopictus were as competent as Ae. aegypti populations with respect to transmission of CHIKV_SM and (iv) exposure of European Ae. albopictus to low temperatures (20°C) significantly reduced the transmission potential for CHIKV_SM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CHIKV strains belonging to the ECSA genotype could also have initiated local transmission in the new world. Additionally, the ongoing CHIKV outbreak in the Americas could potentially spread throughout Ae. aegypti- and Ae. albopictus-infested regions of the Americas with possible imported cases of CHIKV to Ae. albopictus-infested regions in Europe. Colder temperatures may decrease the local transmission of CHIKV_SM by European Ae. albopictus, potentially explaining the lack of autochthonous transmission of CHIKV_SM in Europe despite the hundreds of imported CHIKV cases returning from the Caribbean.
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Department of Virology, Arboviruses and Insect Vectors, Paris, France; Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Institut de Formation Doctorale (IFD), Paris, France.
authors.forename: Anubis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vega-Rúa
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Transmissores de Hematozoários, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lourenço-de-Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Department of Virology, Arboviruses and Insect Vectors, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mousson
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Department of Virology, Arboviruses and Insect Vectors, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vazeille
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Department of Virology, Arboviruses and Insect Vectors, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Sappho
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.affiliation: Centre de Démoustication/Conseil Général de La Martinique, Fort-de-France, Martinique, France.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yébakima
authors.affiliation: Agence Régionale de Danté (ARS) Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin et Saint-Barthélemy, Pole de Santé Publique, Gourbeyre, Guadeloupe, France.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gustave
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, Unité d'Entomologie médicale, Cayenne, French Guiana.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Girod
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, Unité d'Entomologie médicale, Cayenne, French Guiana.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dusfour
authors.affiliation: Centre National de Référence (CNR) des Arbovirus, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées Hôpital d'Instruction des Armées Laveran, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Leparc-Goffart
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, United States of America; Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Dana L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Vanlandingham
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Yan-Jang S
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida, Vero Beach, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: L Philip
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Lounibos
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, IRD French Institute of Research for Development, EHESP French School of Public Health, EPV UMR_D 190 'Emergence des Pathologies Virales', Marseille, France; IHU Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Souand
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohamed Ali
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, IRD French Institute of Research for Development, EHESP French School of Public Health, EPV UMR_D 190 'Emergence des Pathologies Virales', Marseille, France; IHU Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nougairede
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, IRD French Institute of Research for Development, EHESP French School of Public Health, EPV UMR_D 190 'Emergence des Pathologies Virales', Marseille, France; IHU Méditerranée Infection, APHM Public Hospitals of Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: de Lamballerie
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Department of Virology, Arboviruses and Insect Vectors, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Anna-Bella
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Failloux
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000821:virology*; D000569:Americas; D000818:Animals; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology*; D012463:Saliva / Q000821:virology; D013696:Temperature