Persistency of transovarial dengue virus in Aedes aegypti (Linn.).

A study was conducted to examine the persistency of transovarial dengue virus type 2 (DEN-2) in a Selangor strain of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Two hundred 4-5 day old female mosquitoes were fed with blood containing dengue virus. The infected mosquitoes were reared to the 7 th generation; each generation was screened for the virus using immunological staining methods. The virus was detectable until the 5 th generation but absent in the 6 th and the 7 th generations. Therefore, dengue virus type 2 can be transmitted transovarially in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes until the fifth generation under laboratory conditions.