Affiliations 

  • 1 Biology Research Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, SEGi University, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
  • 2 Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
  • 3 Centre for Virus and Vaccine Research, School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
Front Microbiol, 2018;9:1040.
PMID: 29875751 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01040

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged as a new global health threat. Since its first discovery in Zika forest in Uganda, this virus has been isolated from several mosquito species, including Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The geographical distribution of these mosquito species across tropical and subtropical regions has led to several outbreaks, including the recent pandemic in Brazil, followed by the Pacific islands and other areas of North and South America. This has gained attention of the scientific community to elucidate the epidemiology and transmission of ZIKV. Despite its strong attention on clinical aspects for healthcare professionals, the relationships between ZIKV and its principal vectors, A. aegypti and A. albopictus, have not gained substantial interest in the scientific research community. As such, this review aims to summarize the current knowledge on ZIKV tropism and some important mechanisms which may be employed by the virus for effective strategies on viral survival in mosquitoes. In addition, this review identifies the areas of research that should be placed attention to, for which to be exploited for novel mosquito control strategies.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.