Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42401942›Full record

ArticleParasites & vectors2026

Trouble from the tiger: first detection of dengue virus in Aedes albopictus in Australia during a 2024 dengue outbreak on Masig Island.

Mutizwa Odwell Muzari, Melissa C Graham, Gerhard Ehlers, Rodney Bellwood, Joseph Davis, Dunstan Peniyamina, Gregor J Devine, Brian J Johnson

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Parasites & vectors, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Mutizwa Odwell Muzari *Cairns Public Health Unit, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Services, Cairns, QLD, Australia.
Melissa C Graham *Mosquito Control Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Gerhard EhlersCairns Public Health Unit, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Services, Cairns, QLD, Australia.
Rodney BellwoodCairns Public Health Unit, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Services, Cairns, QLD, Australia.
Joseph DavisCairns Public Health Unit, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Services, Cairns, QLD, Australia.
Dunstan PeniyaminaTorres and Cape Public Health Unit, Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Services, Cairns, QLD, Australia.
Gregor J DevineMosquito Control Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Brian J JohnsonMosquito Control Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. brian.johnson@qimrb.edu.au.

Funding

National Health and Medical Research Council 2024/GNT2039802
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDengue is not endemic in Australia and outbreaks occur occasionally after viraemic travellers visit parts of Queensland where dengue vectors are prevalent. Prior to 2016, Aedes aegypti was the primary vector of dengue in Australia. However, several dengue outbreaks have occurred more recently on islands in the Torres Strait region where Ae. aegypti has been displaced by Aedes albopictus following its first detection in the islands in 2005.

methodsIn November 2024, adult female Ae. albopictus were collected during a dengue outbreak on Masig Island where Ae. aegypti is now absent after displacement by Ae. albopictus. Collected mosquitoes were pooled and screened for the presence of dengue virus by qRT-PCR and direct RNA sequencing.

resultsDengue virus RNA was detected by qRT-PCR in 9 of 12 mosquito pools. RNA sequencing of three positive pools confirmed the virus as belonging to dengue serotype 3 (DENV-3), consistent with the clinical serotype identified during the 2024 outbreak. Sequencing further detected four insect-specific viruses, including Bio Sioux River virus, reported in Australia for the first time.

conclusionsThese results represent the first detection and whole genome sequencing of dengue virus in Ae. albopictus collected in Australia. The detection of DENV-3 RNA in Ae. albopictus during a concurrent outbreak of the same serotype in the absence of Ae. aegypti supports the ability of Ae. albopictus to drive independent dengue outbreaks. The findings confirm the risk of dengue outbreaks in mainland Australia if Ae. albopictus were to invade and expand beyond its current distribution in the Torres Strait.

Indexed as

AedesDengueDengue VirusDisease OutbreaksMosquito VectorsAnimalsAustraliaFemaleHumansIslandsPhylogenyQueenslandRNA, ViralSerogroupWhole Genome SequencingRNA, ViralAedes aegyptiAedes albopictusAustraliaDengue virusDENV3

Identifiers

PMID42401942
PMCPMC13613601

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.