Recent African strains of Zika virus display higher transmissibility and fetal pathogenicity than Asian strains

Fabien Aubry, Sofie Jacobs, Maïlis Darmuzey, Sebastian Lequime, Leen Delang, Albin Fontaine, Natapong Jupatanakul, Elliott F. Miot, Stéphanie Dabo, Caroline Manet, Xavier Montagutelli, Artem Baidaliuk, Fabiana Gámbaro, Etienne Simon-Lorière, Maxime Gilsoul, Claudia M. Romero-Vivas, Cao-Lormeau Van-Mai, Richard G. Jarman, Cheikh T. Diagne, Oumar Faye, Ousmane Faye, Amadou A. Sall, Johan Neyts, Laurent Nguyen, Suzanne J. F. Kaptein () and Louis Lambrechts ()
Additional contact information
Fabien Aubry: Institut Pasteur, UMR2000, CNRS
Sofie Jacobs: Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy
Maïlis Darmuzey: University of Liège
Sebastian Lequime: Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology
Leen Delang: Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy
Albin Fontaine: Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées (IRBA)
Natapong Jupatanakul: Institut Pasteur, UMR2000, CNRS
Elliott F. Miot: Institut Pasteur, UMR2000, CNRS
Stéphanie Dabo: Institut Pasteur, UMR2000, CNRS
Caroline Manet: Institut Pasteur
Xavier Montagutelli: Institut Pasteur
Artem Baidaliuk: Institut Pasteur, UMR2000, CNRS
Fabiana Gámbaro: Institut Pasteur
Etienne Simon-Lorière: Institut Pasteur
Maxime Gilsoul: University of Liège
Claudia M. Romero-Vivas: Fundación Universidad del Norte
Cao-Lormeau Van-Mai: Institut Louis Malardé
Richard G. Jarman: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Cheikh T. Diagne: Institut Pasteur Dakar
Oumar Faye: Institut Pasteur Dakar
Ousmane Faye: Institut Pasteur Dakar
Amadou A. Sall: Institut Pasteur Dakar
Johan Neyts: Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy
Laurent Nguyen: University of Liège
Suzanne J. F. Kaptein: Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy
Louis Lambrechts: Institut Pasteur, UMR2000, CNRS

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract The global emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) revealed the unprecedented ability for a mosquito-borne virus to cause congenital birth defects. A puzzling aspect of ZIKV emergence is that all human outbreaks and birth defects to date have been exclusively associated with the Asian ZIKV lineage, despite a growing body of laboratory evidence pointing towards higher transmissibility and pathogenicity of the African ZIKV lineage. Whether this apparent paradox reflects the use of relatively old African ZIKV strains in most laboratory studies is unclear. Here, we experimentally compare seven low-passage ZIKV strains representing the recently circulating viral genetic diversity. We find that recent African ZIKV strains display higher transmissibility in mosquitoes and higher lethality in both adult and fetal mice than their Asian counterparts. We emphasize the high epidemic potential of African ZIKV strains and suggest that they could more easily go unnoticed by public health surveillance systems than Asian strains due to their propensity to cause fetal loss rather than birth defects.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21199-z

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