Vector competence of Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus for Oropouche virus
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
- 2Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America
- 3World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America
- 4Laboratory of Emerging Viruses, Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
- 5Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Abstract
Oropouche virus (OROV) is an arthropod-borne virus transmitted mainly by Culicoides paraensis midges in Latin America and the Caribbean, though evidence suggests occasional transmission by mosquitoes. Oropouche fever has been reported primarily in the Amazon Basin since the 1950s. In 2024, the number of Oropouche fever cases rose sharply and spread beyond the Amazon region, which has been associated with the emergence of a new reassortant OROV strain. We assessed whether increased case numbers could be explained by enhanced replication or transmission of the reassortant strain in peri-urban Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes albopictus. Laboratory colonies established from Salvador, Brazil were orally exposed to the ancestral OROV strain BeAn 19991 or the contemporary strain 240023 (10⁴–10⁶ PFU/mL), and viral replication was quantified in bodies, legs, and saliva. To evaluate the influence of mosquito genotype on infection outcomes, infection rates were compared between Ae. albopictus from Salvador City (Brazil) and Houston (USA). In Cx. quinquefasciatus, the outbreak strain replicated less efficiently than the historical strain at low viral doses but not at high infection doses. Regardless of strain or dose, vector competence was extremely low, with only 0–1% of mosquitoes exhibiting infectious OROV particles in their saliva after extrinsic incubation. Conversely, Ae. albopictus showed consistently higher body infection rates for the 240023 strain than for BeAn 19991 at both low and high doses. However, overall transmission potential remained limited: only 0–6.4% of leg or saliva samples were positive across OROV strains and doses. The higher infection rates of the 240023 strain was consistent across both Ae. albopictus genotypes, but infectious saliva was detected only in mosquitoes from the Salvador line (up to 20%) and not in the Houston line (0%). Taken together, this suggests that the recent geographic expansion of OROV is unlikely to be driven by a vector shift from midges to these mosquitoes. Importantly, our findings do indicate higher infectivity of the 240023 strain in Ae. albopictus across different mosquito lines which may have future implications for further adaptation to OROV. Author summary: OROV is a midge-borne disease, and some field and experimental studies have evidence that mosquitoes may also be involved in OROV transmission. Previous vector studies have focused on historical OROV strains or vectors from non-endemic regions. At present, the current role of mosquitoes from endemic areas in the spread of contemporary OROV strains associated with the emergence since 2023 remains understudied. We reported a vector competence study of Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus for OROV from OROV-endemic (Brazil) and non-endemic (USA) areas and directly compared historical and contemporary OROV strains across multiple infection doses, including those that closely recapitulate human viremia levels. Our data allowed us to identify the higher infectivity of the OROV strain 240023 (contemporary) in Ae. albopictus bodies at both low and high doses. Our data showed that peridomestic or urban mosquitoes (Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus) exhibit very limited competence for OROV transmission. Our results indicate that the recent expansion of OROV into new geographic areas is unlikely to be driven by a shift from midges to these mosquitoes. These findings reinforce the need to prioritize control of Culicoides paraensis, which is the primary OROV vector.
Related
- Vector competence for dengue-2 virus of permethrin resistant/ susceptible Aedes aegypti sub-populations from selected sites in Lamu County, Kenya
- Long-Term Surveillance Reveals Establishment of Aedes albopictus in Eastern Nebraska, USA
- Metabolic resistance drives cross-resistance in Aedes albopictus to pyriproxyfen and pyrethroid insecticides
- Patterns of insecticide resistance in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in different cities across Cameroon
- Gut microbiota profiles as potential indicators of irradiation-induced quality loss in mass-reared Aedes albopictus males
BibTeX
@article{abu2026vector,
title = {{Vector competence of Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus for Oropouche virus}},
author = {Angel Elma I. Abu and Xinyi Hua and Rachel Sattler and Margaret V. Becker and Julia Forato and Shirlene T. S. de Lima and Ingra M. Claro and Gabriel C. Scachetti and Leda M. Simões Mello and Maria Anice M. Sallum and Kenneth S. Plante and Scott C. Weaver and José Luiz Proenca-Modena and William M. de Souza and Laura B. Dickson},
journal = {PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pntd.0014656},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0014656},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Vector competence of Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus for Oropouche virus
AU - Angel Elma I. Abu
AU - Xinyi Hua
AU - Rachel Sattler
AU - Margaret V. Becker
AU - Julia Forato
AU - Shirlene T. S. de Lima
AU - Ingra M. Claro
AU - Gabriel C. Scachetti
AU - Leda M. Simões Mello
AU - Maria Anice M. Sallum
AU - Kenneth S. Plante
AU - Scott C. Weaver
AU - José Luiz Proenca-Modena
AU - William M. de Souza
AU - Laura B. Dickson
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
DO - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0014656
UR - https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0014656
AB - Oropouche virus (OROV) is an arthropod-borne virus transmitted mainly by Culicoides paraensis midges in Latin America and the Caribbean, though evidence suggests occasional transmission by mosquitoes. Oropouche fever has been reported primarily in the Amazon Basin since the 1950s. In 2024, the number of Oropouche fever cases rose sharply and spread beyond the Amazon region, which has been associated with the emergence of a new reassortant OROV strain. We assessed whether increased case numbers could be explained by enhanced replication or transmission of the reassortant strain in peri-urban Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes albopictus. Laboratory colonies established from Salvador, Brazil were orally exposed to the ancestral OROV strain BeAn 19991 or the contemporary strain 240023 (10⁴–10⁶ PFU/mL), and viral replication was quantified in bodies, legs, and saliva. To evaluate the influence of mosquito genotype on infection outcomes, infection rates were compared between Ae. albopictus from Salvador City (Brazil) and Houston (USA). In Cx. quinquefasciatus, the outbreak strain replicated less efficiently than the historical strain at low viral doses but not at high infection doses. Regardless of strain or dose, vector competence was extremely low, with only 0–1% of mosquitoes exhibiting infectious OROV particles in their saliva after extrinsic incubation. Conversely, Ae. albopictus showed consistently higher body infection rates for the 240023 strain than for BeAn 19991 at both low and high doses. However, overall transmission potential remained limited: only 0–6.4% of leg or saliva samples were positive across OROV strains and doses. The higher infection rates of the 240023 strain was consistent across both Ae. albopictus genotypes, but infectious saliva was detected only in mosquitoes from the Salvador line (up to 20%) and not in the Houston line (0%). Taken together, this suggests that the recent geographic expansion of OROV is unlikely to be driven by a vector shift from midges to these mosquitoes. Importantly, our findings do indicate higher infectivity of the 240023 strain in Ae. albopictus across different mosquito lines which may have future implications for further adaptation to OROV. Author summary: OROV is a midge-borne disease, and some field and experimental studies have evidence that mosquitoes may also be involved in OROV transmission. Previous vector studies have focused on historical OROV strains or vectors from non-endemic regions. At present, the current role of mosquitoes from endemic areas in the spread of contemporary OROV strains associated with the emergence since 2023 remains understudied. We reported a vector competence study of Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus for OROV from OROV-endemic (Brazil) and non-endemic (USA) areas and directly compared historical and contemporary OROV strains across multiple infection doses, including those that closely recapitulate human viremia levels. Our data allowed us to identify the higher infectivity of the OROV strain 240023 (contemporary) in Ae. albopictus bodies at both low and high doses. Our data showed that peridomestic or urban mosquitoes (Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus) exhibit very limited competence for OROV transmission. Our results indicate that the recent expansion of OROV into new geographic areas is unlikely to be driven by a shift from midges to these mosquitoes. These findings reinforce the need to prioritize control of Culicoides paraensis, which is the primary OROV vector.
SN - 1935-2735
SN - 1935-2727
ER -