Zika fever shows few symptoms which most commonly include fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes. There is no vaccine or treatment available, and Zika poses a big concern because of its connections with birth defects in babies whose mothers have had Zika symptoms and with a neurological condition called Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
But scientists are exploring the idea that the virus could spread via a far more common species called the Culex quinquefasciatus that is 20 times more common than Aedes aegypti in Brazil.
Culex quinquefasciatus, a.k.a the southern house mosquito, is found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is the vector of Wuchereria bancrofti, avian malaria, and arboviruses including St. Louis encephalitis virus, Western equine encephalitis virus, and West Nile virus.
The Culex mosquito is a subtropical species covering most of Central and South America and active in the night, as opposed to Aedes aegypti, which is a daytime biter.
Researchers injected 200 mosquitoes the Zika virus and observed that it made its way into the bug's salivary glands where needs to be to infect a person. Next they are taking a look at the culex mosquitoes already circulating in areas with Zika to see if they are also carrying the virus. If so, it could make the situation much worse.
The research on culex quinquefasciatus has not been published or peer-reviewed yet, so this isn't the final word on whether it can actually be a major threat to the ongoing Zika outbreak. But if it proves true, it could seriously complicate mosquito-control efforts in place for Zika.
