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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #293165
Title: Potential for mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from Florida to transmit rift valley fever virus

Author
item TURELL, MICHAEL - Department Of Defense
item Gibson, Seth
item Aldridge, Robert
item Linthicum, Kenneth - Ken

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/22/2013
Publication Date: 2/24/2013
Citation: Turell, M.J., Britch, S.C., Aldridge, R.L., Linthicum, K. 2013. Potential for mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from Florida to transmit rift valley fever virus. Meeting Abstract. Pg.11.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: We evaluated 8 species of mosquitoes collected in Florida to determine which of these should be targeted for control should Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) be detected in North America. Female mosquitoes that had fed on adult hamsters inoculated with RVFV were incubated for 7-21 d at 26°C, allowed to refeed on susceptible hamsters, and tested to determine infection, dissemination, and transmission rates. We also inoculated mosquitoes intrathoracically, held them for held them for = d, and then allowed them to feed on a susceptible hamster to check for a salivary gland barrier. While Culex nigripalpus and Anopheles crucians were virtually incompetent, even when fed on hamsters with viremias >10 9.5 plaque-forming units (PFU)/ml, Aedes atlanticus, Ae. infirmatus, Ae. vexans, Coquillettidia perturbans, Mansonia dyari, and Psorophora ferox were all competent vectors of RVFV when fed on hamsters with viremias of =10 8.3 PFU/ml. This represents the first time that either a Mansonia or a Psorophora species has ever been tested for RVFV, and Ps. ferox was the most efficient transmitter of the 8 species tested when exposed to a viremia <10 9 PFU/ml. In addition to laboratory vector competence, factors such as seasonal density, host feeding preference, longevity, and foraging behavior should be considered when determining the potential role that these species could play in RVFV transmission.