Scientists wrestle with possibility of second Zika-spreading mosquito
It’s not yet clear whether Asian tiger mosquitoes will be important virus carriers and worsen outbreak
By Susan Milius
Sure, mosquitoes spread Zika virus. Scientists have already identified the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) as a major spreader in the Americas of Zika and its risk of birth defects and possible paralysis. But Ae. aegypti may not be the only culprit. Recent evidence raises concerns that a relative, the Asian tiger mosquito (Ae. albopictus), might also play a role.
A Mexican lab, for instance, recently detected Zika virus for the first time in an Ae. albopictus collected in the Americas, the World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization announced in April. Just finding the virus in a mosquito doesn’t prove the species will spread the disease in a major way in the Americas, says Phil Lounibos of the University of Florida’s medical entomology lab in Vero Beach. But if Asian tiger mosquitoes do turn out to be important in driving the Zika outbreak northward in the Americas, researchers predict more people and more places could face disease risk.