BACKGROUND Zika has emerged as a new
public health threat after the
explosive epidemic in
Brazil in 2015. It is an
arbovirus transmitted mainly by
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The
knowledge of physiological, behavioural and
biological features in
virus-infected vectors may help the
understanding of
arbovirus transmission dynamics and elucidate their influence in vector capacity. OBJECTIVES We aimed to investigate the effects of
Zika virus (
ZIKV)
infection in the behaviour of Ae. aegypti
females by analysing the
locomotor activity,
egg production and viability.
METHODOLOGY Ae. aegypti
females were orally infected with
ZIKV through an artificial feeder to access
egg production,
egg viability and
locomotor activity. For
egg production and viability assays,
females were kept in cages containing an artificial site for
oviposition and
eggs were counted.
Locomotor activity assays were performed in activity monitors and an average of 5th, 6th and 7th days after infective
feeding was calculated. FINDINGS No significant difference in the number of
eggs laid per
females neither in their viability were found between
ZIKV infected and non-infected
females, regardless the tested pair of
mosquito population and
virus strain and the gonotrophic cycles.
Locomotor activity assays were performed regardless of the
locomotor activity in
ZIKV infected
females was observed, in both LD and DD conditions. MAIN CONCLUSIONS The lower
locomotor activity may reduce the mobility of the
mosquitoes and may explain case
clustering within households reported during Zika
outbreaks such as in Rio de Janeiro 2015. Nevertheless, the
mosquitoes infected with
ZIKV are still able to disseminate and to transmit the
disease, especially in places where there are many
oviposition sites.