Blood-feeding behavior of Aedes albopictus, a vector of Chikungunya on La Réunion
Autor(es): Delatte Helene, Desvars Amelie, Bouétard Anthony, Bord Séverine, Gimonneau Geoffrey, Vourc'h Gwenaël, Fontenille Didier
Resumo: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has long been considered to be transmitted to humans by the human-biting mosquito Aedes aegypti, especially in Africa. However, the recent outbreak of CHIKV involved another vector, Aedes albopictus, - serological data in the literature suggest that several species of domestic or human-related vertebrates can be contaminated by this virus. However, the role of Ae. albopictus mosquitoes as potential enzootic vectors for CHIKV has not yet been evaluated. Here we investigate Ae. albopictus feeding - resting behaviors in an area where a CHIKV epidemic recently occurred, which means deciphering host-seeking - feeding behaviors on several vertebrate species, measuring endophagous/exophagous (activity), endophilic/exophilic (resting) behaviors - its diel (24 h, day/night) biting activity. Ae. albopictus was found to have bimodal daily feeding activities - was found to have exophagic (89%) - exophilic (87%) behaviors. Ae. albopictus showed an opportunistic feeding behavior on a wide range of hosts (from cold-blooded to warm-blooded animals), supporting that it can be implicated in various vertebrate-virus pathosystems. However, with equal availability of one of the four vertebrate hosts (calf, chicken, dog, - goat) proposed against human, Ae. albopictus significantly preferred human, supporting earlier data about its high degree of anthropophily. Multiple blood feeding was also reported in every combination (animal/human) offered to Ae. albopictus, enlightening the higher risks to spread an arbovirus to human population because of interrupted feeding. Such catholic behavior suggests that Ae. albopictus may act as a bridge vector for zoonotic viruses. Further epidemiological implications of this issue are discussed.
Imprenta: Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, v. 10, n. 3, p. 249-258, 2010
Identificador do objeto digital: 10.1089/vbz.2009.0026
Descritores: Chikungunya virus - Arbovirus ; Chikungunya virus - Pathogenesis ; Chikungunya virus - Viral infections ; Chikungunya Virus - Virus ; Chikungunya virus - Transmission ; Chikungunya virus - Epidemic
Data de publicação: 2010
