Mosquitoes infected with dengue viruses in Brazil

• Published in: Virology journal Vol. 7; no. 1; p. 152
• Main Authors: de Figueiredo, Mario L G, de C Gomes, Almério, Amarilla, Alberto A, de S Leandro, André, de S Orrico, Agnaldo, de Araujo, Renato F, do S M Castro, Jesuína, Durigon, Edison L, Aquino, Victor H, Figueiredo, Luiz T M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 12-07-2010; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Aedes albopictus; Animals; Brazil; Culicidae; Culicidae - virology; Dengue - virology; Dengue virus; Dengue Virus - classification; Dengue Virus - genetics; Dengue Virus - isolation & purification; Female; Flavivirus; Haemagogus leucocelaenus; Humans; Insect Vectors - virology; Male; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; Brazil
• ISSN: 1743-422X; 1743-422X
• DOI: 10.1186/1743-422X-7-152

Dengue epidemics have been reported in Brazil since 1985. The scenery has worsened in the last decade because several serotypes are circulating and producing a hyper-endemic situation, with an increase of DHF/DSS cases as well as the number of fatalities. Herein, we report dengue virus surveillance in mosquitoes using a Flavivirus genus-specific RT-Hemi-Nested-PCR assay. The mosquitoes (Culicidae, n = 1700) collected in the Northeast, Southeast and South of Brazil, between 1999 and 2005, were grouped into 154 pools. Putative genomes of DENV-1, -2 and -3 were detected in 6 mosquito pools (3.8%). One amplicon of putative DENV-1 was detected in a pool of Haemagogus leucocelaenus suggesting that this virus could be involved in a sylvatic cycle. DENV-3 was found infecting 3 pools of larvae of Aedes albopictus and the nucleotide sequence of one of these viruses was identified as DENV-3 of genotype III, phylogenetically related to other DENV-3 isolated in Brazil. This is the first report of a nucleotide sequence of DENV-3 from larvae of Aedes albopictus.