A Single Mutation in Chikungunya Virus Affects Vector Specificity and Epidemic Potential

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an emerging arbovirus associated with several recent large-scale epidemics. The 2005-2006 epidemic on Reunion island that resulted in approximately 266,000 human cases was associated with a strain of CHIKV with a mutation in the envelope protein gene (E1-A226V). To test the hypothesis that this mutation in the epidemic CHIKV (strain LR2006 OPY1) might influence fitness for different vector species, viral infectivity, dissemination, and transmission of CHIKV were compared in Aedes albopictus, the species implicated in the epidemic, and the recognized vector Ae. aegypti. Using viral infectious clones of the Reunion strain and a West African strain of CHIKV, into which either the…

• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: NIH T32
• CF
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention