Potential of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus populations in the Central African Republic to transmit enzootic chikungunya virus strains

Background: Major chikungunya outbreaks have affected several Central African countries during the past decade. The chikungunya virus (CHIKV) was isolated from humans and sylvan mosquitoes in the Central African Republic (CAR) during the 1970 and 1980s but has not been found recently, despite the presence of Aedes albopictus since 2010. The risk of a massive chikungunya epidemic is therefore potentially high, as the human populations are immunologically naive and because of the presence of the mosquito vector. In order to estimate the risk of a large outbreak, we assessed the vector competence of local Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus populations for ancient local strains of CHIKV in CAR. Mosquitoes were orally infected with the virus, and its presence in mosquito saliva was analysed 7 and 14 days post-infection (dpi) by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Results: The two species had similar infection rates at 7 and 14 days, and the dissemination rate of both vectors was >= 80% at 14 dpi. Only females followed up to 14 dpi had CHKV in their saliva. Conclusion: These results confirm the risk of transmission of enzootic CHIKV by anthropophilic vectors such as Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus.