Sphingomyelins in mosquito saliva reconfigure skin lipidome to promote viral protein levels and enhance transmission of flaviviruses

Medkour et al. demonstrate that lipids of the sphingomyelin class in mosquito saliva facilitate the transmission of multiple flaviviruses. These salivary sphingomyelins reconfigure lipid homeostasis i...

cell.com

Dengue virus infection modifies mosquito blood-feeding behavior to increase transmission to the host | PNAS

Mosquito blood-feeding behavior is a key determinant of the epidemiology of dengue viruses (DENV), the most-prevalent mosquito-borne viruses. Howev...

pnas.org

Zika and chikungunya viruses decrease salivation in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

Aedes mosquitoes transmit viruses of global health concern through blood feeding. While biting, mosquitoes inject viruses but also saliva factors that modulate feeding and potentially viral transmission. However, studying this interplay is limited by our ability to quantify saliva release. Here, we developed a transgenic Aedes aegypti line that secretes fluorescent markers in saliva, enabling visualization of probing sites on human skin explants and quantification of salivation. Saliva secretion remained robust under diverse physiological conditions but was significantly reduced upon Zika or chikungunya virus infection. Nevertheless, virus release did not correlate with levels of saliva factors, suggesting decreased salivation does not lower chances of viral transmission. Our results bring perspective to the previously described increase in probing behavior in infected mosquitoes, indicating it may be caused by lower release of saliva factors. Thus, the negative impact of infection on salivation may have been selected to facilitate virus transmission.

dlvr.it

Dengue and chikungunya risk becoming endemic in Europe as mosquitoes head north

Climate change is driving outbreaks of tropical diseases across the continent.

politico.eu

Effectiveness of integrated vector management on the incidence of dengue in urban Malaysia: a cluster-randomised controlled trial - PubMed

For the Malay translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

#FLAVIVACCINE's coordinator Julien Pompon's interview

YouTube video by FLAVIVACCINE EU

youtu.be

Impact of climate and Aedes albopictus establishment on dengue and chikungunya outbreaks in Europe: a time-to-event analysis - PubMed

European Union's Horizon Europe.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Engineered antibody-mediated broad-spectrum suppression of human arboviruses in the Aedes aegypti vector - Communications Biology

Overexpression of small antibodies in mosquito midguts inhibits infection by dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and Mayaro viruses. Co-expressing small antibodies with Dcr2 further enhances arbovirus transmis...

nature.com

Oropouche is spread by midges, not mosquitoes

In a new study, Yale researchers conclude that Oropouche fever is spread chiefly by biting insects called midges, while mosquitoes are unlikely to play much of

ysph.yale.edu

Frontiers | Characterization of size distribution and markers for mosquito extracellular vesicles

frontiersin.org

Frontiers | Characterization of size distribution and markers for mosquito extracellular vesicles

frontiersin.org

Microsoft Forms

forms.office.com

Japanese encephalitis virus detected in Brisbane for the first time

Queenslanders are being warned against getting bitten by mosquitoes after the Japanese encephalitis virus was found in Brisbane.

abc.net.au

Funded postdoctoral position in the Lecuit lab at Institut Pasteur - Research

research.pasteur.fr

Dengue virus susceptibility in Aedes aegypti linked to natural cytochrome P450 variants

The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the primary vector for dengue virus (DENV), which infects millions of people annually. Variability in DENV susceptibility among wild Ae. aegypti populations is governed b...

biorxiv.org

ALLEA Statement on Threats to Academic Freedom and International Research Collaboration in the United States

allea.org

FLAVIVACCINE on LinkedIn: #flavivaccine

Have you already signed up for our newsletter? 📥 https://lnkd.in/dB3AMiyX Flavivirus infections pose significant challenges to public health. Our project…

linkedin.com

The role of vector population variation and climate in Zika virus transmission patterns in Africa: a modelling study

Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks have raised major global health concerns recently, yet reported outbreaks are rare in Africa, where ZIKV was first discove…

sciencedirect.com

Multiple orthoflaviviruses secrete sfRNA in mosquito saliva to promote transmission by inhibiting MDA5-mediated early interferon response

Numerous orthoflaviviruses transmitted through the bites of different mosquito species infect more than 500 million people annually. Bite-initiated skin infection represents a critical and conserved s...

biorxiv.org

Infectious diseases in 2025: a year for courage and conviction

“The COVID-19 crisis may have passed, but a harsh lesson remains: the world is woefully unprepared for the next pandemic”, said António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, on the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, Dec 24, 2024. His remarks resonated with those of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus when asked whether the world is better prepared for the next pandemic. He noted that while some painful lessons have been learnt, many of the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities that allowed COVID-19 to gain a foothold 5 years ago still exist.

thelancet.com