Female
mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus can pass the infection to the next
generation, lab tests show.
Among Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, thought to be the main
species spreading Zika in the
Americas, at least one out of every 290 lab offspring catches the
virus from its mother, Texas researchers say August 29 in the Journal
of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Infected eggs, which can survive for months
on dry surfaces, could keep the virus circulating even after dry or cold
spells, when adult mosquitoes die off, warns Robert Tesh of University of Texas
Medical Branch in Galveston.
Earlier research had already shown that youngsters
of this species can inherit related viruses, such as those causing dengue, West
Nile and yellow fever. Mom-to-egg transmission though is not a given: The
same research project also reported no evidence so far of this vertical
transmission in 803 offspring of anotherpossible Zika
spreader, Ae. albopictus. It’s not known how likely mosquito
moms are to infect their young outside of the lab. Doing a reliable test with
wild mosquitoes outdoors is a much more difficult project, the researchers say.
By
Mrs. K. Pavithra
Assistant Professor
Department
of Biochemistry
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