Zika and Chikungunya – emerging arboviral threats in Vietnam and SE Asia? (360G-Wellcome-203187_Z_16_Z)

The emergence of the Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Western Pacific and Latin America has underscored the challenge of controlling vector-borne viral infections. There is negligible data on the prevalence of ZIKV and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Vietnam. Thus, the aims of this fellowship are: 1/ To ascertain whether ZIKV and CHIKV have been circulating in Vietnam during the last 5 years. A diagnostic RT-PCR test will be performed to test the presence of ZIKV or CHIKV RNA in > 8,000 acute plasma samples from patients with undifferentiated fever, and a negative diagnosis for dengue, based on laboratory tests. The expected outcome is a greater understanding of the geographical range of ZIKV and CHIKV in Vietnam and SE Asia, which is important for local diagnostics, clinical and public health management strategies, and global burden estimates. 2/ Assess the relative susceptibility of field-reared, Vietnamese Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes to infection with ZIKV and CHIKV by oral infection, with a virus spiked into healthy donor blood. Irrespective of whether these viruses are currently circulating in Vietnam, it is nonetheless prudent to test the susceptibility of local mosquitoes to these viral pathogens, as a critical element in risk assessment for Vietnam.