Though mosquitoes are the feared spreader of Zika virus in the Americas, researchers recently said that it is wild monkeys passing the disease to them, and guaranteeing its staying power.
Published in Scientific Reports, the collaborative effort from researchers of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the Faculty of Medicine of Sao Jose do Rio in Brazil found determined that no matter the possible control and suppression methods introduced to urban areas in the future, animals like these monkeys will remain a source of potential epidemics. Monkeys infected by the researchers maintained viral levels with time, marking them as potential vertebrate hosts.
“Our findings are important because they change our understanding of the ecology and transmission of Zika virus in the Americas,” Nikos Vasilakis, UTMB professor in the department of pathology and senior report author, said. “The possibility of a natural transmission cycle involving local mosquitoes and wild local primates as a reservoir and amplification host will definitely impact our predictions of new outbreaks in the Americas because we cannot eradicate this natural transmission cycle.”
Secondary author, Maurício Lacerda Nogueira, notes that this could help future development of vaccines, public health officials and policymakers going forward.