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Investigating the Effects of Microclimate on Arboviral Kinetics in Aedes aegypti
Erik A Turner1, Samantha D Clark1, Víctor Hugo Peña-García2,3
1Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Abstract:
Aedes aegypti are indoor-dwelling vectors of many arboviruses, including Zika (ZIKV) and chikungunya (CHIKV). The dynamics of these viruses within the mosquito are known to be temperature-dependent, and models that address risk and predictions of the transmission efficiency and patterns typically use meteorological temperature data. These data do not differentiate the temperatures experienced by mosquitoes in different microclimates, such as indoor vs. outdoor. Using temperature data collected from Neiva Colombia, we investigated the impact of two microclimate temperature profiles on ZIKV and CHIKV infection dynamics in Ae. aegypti. We found that the vector mortality was not significantly impacted by the difference in temperature profiles. Further, we found that the infection and dissemination rates were largely unaffected, with only ZIKV experiencing a significant increase in infection at outdoor temperatures at 21 days post-infection (dpi). Further, there was a significant increase in viral titers in the abdomens of ZIKV-infected mosquitoes at 21 dpi. With CHIKV, there was a significant titer difference in the abdomens of mosquitoes at both 7 and 14 dpi. While there were differences in vector infection kinetics that were not statistically significant, we developed a simple stochastic SEIR-SEI model to determine if the observed differences might translate to notable differences in simulated outbreaks. With ZIKV, while the probability of secondary transmission was high (>90%) under both microenvironmental scenarios, there was often only one secondary case. However, CHIKV differences between microenvironments were more prominent. With over 90% probability of secondary transmission, at indoor conditions, the peak of transmission was higher (over 850 cases) compared to the outdoor conditions (<350 cases). Further, the time-to-peak for indoor was 130 days compared to 217 days for outdoor scenarios. Further investigations into microenvironmental conditions, including temperature, may be key to increasing our understanding of the nuances of CHIKV and ZIKV vectorial capacity, epidemiology, and risk assessment, especially as it affects other aspects of transmission, such as biting rate. Overall, it is critical to understand the variability of how extrinsic factors affect transmission systems, and these data add to the growing catalog of knowledge of how temperature affects arboviral systems.
Insights
Microclimate temperatures significantly impact chikungunya virus (CHIKV) transmission dynamics in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, influencing outbreak peaks and timing. Zika virus (ZIKV) showed less pronounced differences, highlighting the need for microclimate data in arbovirus risk assessment.
Area of Science:
- Arbovirology
- Epidemiology
- Vector-borne disease research
Background:
- Aedes aegypti mosquitoes transmit arboviruses like Zika (ZIKV) and chikungunya (CHIKV).
- Standard models use meteorological temperature, not microclimate data, for transmission predictions.
- Microclimate temperature variations (indoor vs. outdoor) may affect virus dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of indoor and outdoor microclimate temperature profiles on ZIKV and CHIKV infection in Aedes aegypti.
- To assess how these microclimate differences influence viral infection, dissemination, and simulated outbreak patterns.
- To evaluate the role of microenvironmental factors in arbovirus vectorial capacity and risk assessment.
Main Methods:
- Collected temperature data from Neiva, Colombia, representing indoor and outdoor microclimates.
- Exposed Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to ZIKV and CHIKV under different temperature profiles.
- Analyzed vector mortality, infection, dissemination rates, and viral titers.
- Developed a stochastic SEIR-SEI model to simulate outbreak dynamics.
Main Results:
- Vector mortality and general infection/dissemination rates were largely unaffected by temperature profiles.
- ZIKV showed increased infection and abdominal titers at outdoor temperatures at 21 days post-infection (dpi).
- CHIKV showed significant abdominal titer differences at 7 and 14 dpi.
- Simulated CHIKV outbreaks showed higher peaks and faster timing under indoor conditions compared to outdoor.
- Simulated ZIKV outbreaks showed high transmission probability but fewer cases regardless of microclimate.
Conclusions:
- Microclimate temperature significantly influences CHIKV transmission dynamics and outbreak potential, with indoor conditions favoring higher and faster transmission.
- While ZIKV infection kinetics showed minor differences, CHIKV dynamics were more sensitive to microenvironmental temperature variations.
- Understanding microclimate temperature is crucial for accurate arbovirus risk assessment and predicting transmission patterns.
- These findings emphasize the importance of considering microenvironmental factors beyond general meteorological data in vector-borne disease modeling.
