Intrathoracic injection of the Ho Chi Minh (HCM), Patilas (PAT) and Orlando (ORL) strains of <i>Ae</i>. <i>aegypti</i> with ZIKV results in transmission to mice.

<p>HCM, PAT and ORL strains of <i>Ae</i>. <i>aegypti</i> were infected by intrathoracic injection with 10³ PFU of ZIKV, and after 7 or 10 days allowed to feed on naïve mice. (A) Experimental workflow for the ZIKV injection experiments. (B) Blood was collected every other day for one week from naïve mice fed on by mosquitoes intrathoracically-infected with ZIKV for 7 or 10 days, and analyzed for ZIKV infection by qRT-PCR. ZIKV RNA levels were normalized to mouse <i>β</i> actin (ACTB) RNA levels. (C) Naïve mice fed on by mosquitoes intrathoracically-infected with ZIKV were monitored for survival for at least 32 days after infected mosquitoes-feeding. Data shown are pooled from at least two independent experiments. (n = 6/group for ORL-Day 7; n = 7/group for ORL-Day 10; n = 7/group for PAT-Day 7; n = 7/group for PAT-Day 10; n = 7/group for HCM-Day 7; n = 6/group for HCM-Day 10.) Significance was calculated using two-way ANOVA with a post-hoc Tukey test. ** P<0.01.