The heightened risk in countries whose inhabitants have no immunity to the illness has led to calls for further research into the virus for which, to date, there is no treatment, researchers said.
Researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) - University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, in collaboration with colleagues at the Institut Pasteur, France, have identified a pathway in the mosquito that could be targeted to prevent transmission.
"It's a first step but an important step because now we have clearly identified an antiviral pathway in the mosquito," said Dr Alain Kohl.
Unlike malaria, which is a disease transmitted by parasites carried by mosquitoes (a different species - the Anopheles mosquito), chikungunya is a virus carried by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquito species.
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They are well-established in parts of Central Africa, India and South-east Asia. Aedes albopictus is also now found in parts of Europe and around the Mediterranean, researchers said.
Once a pathway is identified, scientists will look for ways of breaking the transmission chain - either by weakening or strengthening the immunity of the mosquito - possibly through genetic modification procedures.