Evidence of Zika Virus Infection in Pigs and Mosquitoes, Mexico.

Evidence suggests that pigs seroconvert after experimental exposure to Zika virus and are potential sentinels. We demonstrate that pigs are also susceptible to natural Zika virus infection, shown by the presence of antibodies in domestic pigs in Yucatan, Mexico. Zika virus RNA was detected in 5 species of mosquitoes collected inside pigpens.

Study of Aedes aegypti population with emphasis on the gonotrophic cycle length and identification of arboviruses: implications for vector management in cemeteries.

Aedes aegypti is the vector of the arboviruses causing dengue, chikungunya and zika infections in Mexico. However, its presence in public places has not been fully evaluated. In a cemetery from Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, the productivity of Ae. aegypti, the gonotrophic cycle, and the presence of Ae. aegypti females infected with arboviruses were evaluated. Immature and adult mosquitoes were inspected every two months between April 2016 to June 2017. For the gonotrophic cycle length, the daily pattern of total and parous female ratio was registered and was analyzed using time series analysis. Ae. aegypti females were sorted into pools and assayed for flavivirus RNA by RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing. Aedes aegypti immatures represented 82.86% (8,627/10,411) of the collection. In total, 1,648 Ae. aegypti females were sorted into 166 pools. Two pools were positive; one for dengue virus (DENV-1) and the other for zika virus (ZIKV). The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the DENV-1 is more closely related to isolates from Brazil. While ZIKV is more closely related to the Asian lineage, which were isolates from Guatemala and Mexico. We report some evidence of vertical transmission of DENV-1 in nulliparous females of Ae. aegypti. The gonotrophic cycle was four and three days in the rainy and dry season, respectively. The cemetery of Merida is an important focus of Ae. aegypti proliferation, and these environments may play a role in arboviruses transmission; probably limiting the efficacy of attempts to suppress the presence of mosquitoes in domestic environments.

Detection of hepatitis C virus coinfection in patients with dengue diagnosis.

Coinfection produced by dengue virus (DENV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a serious problem of public health in Mexico, as they both circulate in tropical zones and may lead to masking or complicating symptoms. In this research, we detected active coinfected patients by HCV residing in the endemic city of Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, with positive diagnosis to dengue during the acute phase. We performed a retrospective analysis of 240 serum samples from dengue patients. The IgM-ELISA serological test was used for dengue diagnosis, as well as viral isolation to confirm infection. DENV and HCV were detected by RT-PCR. Thus, 31 (12.9%) samples showed DENV-HCV coinfection, but interestingly the highest frequency of coinfection cases was found in male patients presenting hemorrhagic dengue in 19/31 (61.29%), with a predominance of 12 : 7 in males. Firstly, coinfection of DENV-HCV in Mérida, Mexico, was detected in young dengue patients, between 11 and 20 years old (38.7%), followed by those between 21 and 30 years old (32%); only 16.13% were between 0 and 10 years of age. Diagnosis of HCV infection in patients with dengue is highly recommended in order to establish potential risk in clinical manifestations as well as dictate patients' special care.