Assessing the Risk of Dengue Virus Local Transmission: Study on Vector Competence of Italian Aedes albopictus

Abstract

The frequency of locally transmitted dengue virus (DENV) infections has increased in Europe in recent years, facilitated by the invasive mosquito species Aedes albopictus, which is well established in a large area of Europe. In Italy, the first indigenous dengue outbreak was reported in August 2020 with 11 locally acquired cases in the Veneto region (northeast Italy), caused by a DENV-1 viral strain closely related to a previously described strain circulating in Singapore and China. In this study, we evaluated the vector competence of two Italian populations of Ae. albopictus compared to an Ae. aegypti lab colony. We performed experimental infections using a DENV-1 strain that is phylogenetically close to the strain responsible for the 2020 Italian autochthonous outbreak. Our results showed that local Ae. albopictus is susceptible to infection and is able to transmit the virus, confirming the relevant risk of possible outbreaks starting from an imported case.