Temperature affects viral kinetics and vectorial capacity of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes co-infected with Mayaro and Dengue viruses.

Global warming is having devastating consequences for the environment, and a cause of concern is the increase in local abundance and geographic range of mosquitoes and the associated viruses they transmit. This study explores how temperature affects the mosquito's ability to survive and potentially spread two viruses, Mayaro and dengue, in single or co-infections. We found that Mayaro virus was not clearly affected by temperature or the presence of dengue infection. In contrast, dengue virus showed higher infection and potential for higher transmission in mosquitoes kept at high temperatures, and this trend was stronger in co-infections compared to single infections. Mosquito survival consistently decreased at high temperatures. We hypothesize the differences observed for dengue virus are due to the faster growth and viral activity in the mosquito at hotter temperatures, a pattern not observed for Mayaro virus. More studies under different temperature regimes are needed to clarify the role of co-infection.