Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas.
Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2023 May 30;109(1):115-122. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0777. Print 2023 Jul 5.
Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) belonging to the family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus. In recent years, the geographic distribution of MAYV may have expanded north from South and Central America into the Caribbean Islands. Although Haemagogus janthinomys is considered the main vector for MAYV, the virus has also been isolated from other mosquitoes, including Aedes aegypti, a widespread species that serves as the main vector for highly epidemic viruses. Given the possible expansion and outbreaks of MAYV in Latin America, it is possible that MAYV might be adapting to be efficiently transmitted by urban vectors. Therefore, to investigate this possibility, we evaluated the vector competence of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes to transmit MAYV isolated during a year of low or high MAYV transmission. Adult Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were orally infected with the MAYV strains, and the infection, dissemination, and transmission rates were calculated to evaluate their vector competence. Overall, we found higher infection, dissemination, and transmission rates in both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes infected with the strain isolated during a MAYV outbreak, whereas low/no transmission was detected with the strain isolated during a year of low MAYV activity. Our results confirmed that both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus are competent vectors for the emergent MAYV. Our data suggest that strains isolated during MAYV outbreaks might be better fit to infect and be transmitted by urban vectors, raising serious concern about the epidemic potential of MAYV.
玛雅罗病毒（MAYV）是一种虫媒病毒（arbovirus），属于披膜病毒科，甲病毒属。近年来，MAYV 的地理分布可能已从南美和中美洲向北扩展到加勒比群岛。虽然趋血蚊（Haemagogus janthinomys）被认为是 MAYV 的主要传播媒介，但该病毒也已从其他蚊子中分离出来，包括埃及伊蚊（Aedes aegypti），这是一种广泛分布的物种，是高度流行病毒的主要传播媒介。鉴于 MAYV 在拉丁美洲可能会扩张和爆发，MAYV 可能正在适应通过城市传播媒介更有效地传播。因此，为了研究这种可能性，我们评估了埃及伊蚊和白纹伊蚊传播 MAYV 的媒介能力，该病毒是在 MAYV 传播率低或高的一年中分离出来的。将成年埃及伊蚊和白纹伊蚊经口感染 MAYV 分离株，并计算感染、传播和传播率，以评估其媒介能力。总的来说，我们发现感染、传播和传播率在感染 MAYV 爆发期间分离的株的埃及伊蚊和白纹伊蚊中更高，而在 MAYV 活动率低的一年中分离的株中则检测到低/无传播。我们的结果证实了埃及伊蚊和白纹伊蚊都是新兴 MAYV 的有效传播媒介。我们的数据表明，在 MAYV 爆发期间分离的菌株可能更适合感染和通过城市传播媒介传播，这引发了对 MAYV 流行潜力的严重关注。
