Physiological Impacts on the Mosquito Vector Hosts Refine Vectorial Capacity Estimates of Mayaro Virus Transmission...

Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an alphavirus transmitted by mosquito vectors. Among the three MAYV genotypes (D, L, and N), genotype D has the broadest geographical distribution in Latin America and the Caribbean. The virus can be transmitted by the Aedes, Anopheles, and Haemagogus mosquitoes. To explore the potential expansion of MAYV across the Atlantic Ocean, we compared MAYV (D) infection kinetics in Floridian Aedes aegypti with New World (Anopheles albimanus) and Old World (Anopheles gambiae) anophelines. MAYV infection of both An. albimanus and An. gambiae was rapid, resulting in a higher dissemination rate than Ae. aegypti. We detected MAYV in saliva from An. albimanus (16.6% transmission rate) as early as 2 days post-infection (dpi), increasing to 60% after 7 dpi, a phenomenon (2 dpi) that has not been described to date for mosquitoes. We observed similar increases in MAYV infection of the ovaries and noted marked differences in fecundity for each species tested. Although MAYV infection in An. gambiae was rapid, mosquito lifespan was significantly reduced as compared with both Ae. aegypti and An. albimanus. We discuss the implications of our observations on MAYV transmission risk in Africa by An. gambiae and in the Caribbean and Central America by An. albimanus.