Common mosquito could carry Zika

Research by scientists in Brazil indicates that a mosquito more common than the one primarily known to transmit Zika infections may possibly be able to carry the virus, a development that could further complicate efforts to limit its spread.

The mosquito species Aedes aegypti has been identified as the main transmitter of Zika infections, which have been linked to thousands of birth defects as the virus spreads rapidly in Brazil and other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

But the scientists in Brazil announced on Wednesday that they were able to infect another species, Culex quinquefasciatus, with the virus in a laboratory, raising concerns that Zika could be carried by a species more prevalent than Aedes aegypti. They said much more research is needed to learn whether the Culex mosquitoes can transmit Zika infections.

In Brazil, Culex quinquefasciatus is 20 times more common than Aedes aegypti, the researchers said.

The research, conducted by scientists at the government-funded Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in the north-eastern city of Recife, is part of an ongoing trial in which researchers injected 200 of the Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes with rabbit blood infected by Zika.

The virus, they said, circulated through the mosquitoes’ bodies and into their salivary glands, meaning they might be able to transmit a Zika infection by biting a person.

“We saw an ease of infection and an ease of dissemination of the virus to the salivary glands,” Constancia Ayres, the lead scientist in the study, told Globo, Brazil’s leading television network.

The White House will gather US state and local officials in April to urgently craft a plan to attack the mosquitoes that spread the Zika virus ahead of its peak season.

By June or July, federal health officials expect the continental United States will see its first locally transmitted cases of Zika.

The White House is inviting officials involved in mosquito control and public health to an April 1 summit at the Atlanta headquarters of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to talk about how best to track and control the spread of the virus.