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. 2015 Sep;93(3):461-7.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.14-0128. Epub 2015 Jul 14.

La Crosse Virus Field Detection and Vector Competence of Culex Mosquitoes

M Camille Harris  1 , Fan Yang  2 , Dorian M Jackson  2 , Eric J Dotseth  2 , Sally L Paulson  2 , Dana M Hawley  2
Affiliations

La Crosse Virus Field Detection and Vector Competence of Culex Mosquitoes

M Camille Harris et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2015 Sep.

Abstract

La Crosse virus (LACV), a leading cause of arboviral pediatric encephalitis in the United States, is emerging in Appalachia. Here, we report field and laboratory evidence that suggest LACV may be using Culex mosquitoes as additional vectors in this region. This bunyavirus was detected by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in two pools of Culex mosquitoes in southwestern Virginia and in six pools in West Virginia. To assess vector competence, we offered LACV blood meals to field-collected Culex restuans Theobald, Cx. pipiens L., and Aedes triseriatus (Say). Both Culex species were susceptible to infection. LACV-positive salivary expectorate, indicative of the ability to transmit, was detected in a small proportion of Cx. restuans (9%) and Cx. pipiens (4%) compared with Ae. triseriatus (40%). In a companion study of Cx. restuans only, we found that adults derived from nutritionally stressed larvae were significantly more likely to disseminate and transmit LACV. Our results indicate a potential role of Culex spp. in LACV dynamics that should be explored further in endemic areas.

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