scholarly journals First Evidence of West Nile Virus Overwintering in Mosquitoes in Germany

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2463
Author(s):  
Helge Kampen ◽  
Birke Andrea Tews ◽  
Doreen Werner
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Acid Extraction ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Northeastern Germany

Mosquitoes collected from mid-December 2020 to early March 2021 from hibernacula in northeastern Germany, a region of West Nile virus (WNV) activity since 2018, were examined for WNV-RNA. Among the 6101 mosquitoes tested in 722 pools of up to 12 specimens, one pool of 10 Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes collected in early March 2021 in the cellar of a medieval castle in Rosslau, federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, tested positive. Subsequent mosquito DNA analysis produced Culex pipiens biotype pipiens. The pool homogenate remaining after nucleic acid extraction failed to grow the virus on Vero and C6/36 cells. Sequencing of the viral NS2B-NS3 coding region, however, demonstrated high homology with virus strains previously collected in Germany, e.g., from humans, birds, and mosquitoes, which have been designated the East German WNV clade. The finding confirms the expectation that WNV can overwinter in mosquitoes in Germany, facilitating an early start to the natural transmission season in the subsequent year. On the other hand, the calculated low infection prevalence of 0.016–0.20%, depending on whether one or twelve of the mosquitoes in the positive pool was/were infected, indicates a slow epidemic progress and mirrors the still-hypoendemic situation in Germany. In any case, local overwintering of the virus in mosquitoes suggests its long-term persistence and an enduring public health issue.

scholarly journals Screening of Mosquitoes for West Nile Virus and Usutu Virus in Croatia, 2015–2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Ana Klobucar ◽  
Vladimir Savic ◽  
Marcela Curman Posavec ◽  
Suncica Petrinic ◽  
Urska Kuhar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Usutu Virus ◽  
Culex Pipiens Complex ◽  
Mammalian Origin ◽  
Mosquito Pool ◽  
The City ◽  
Generation Sequencing

In the period from 2015 to 2020, an entomological survey for the presence of West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) in mosquitoes was performed in northwestern Croatia. A total of 20,363 mosquitoes were sampled in the City of Zagreb and Međimurje county, grouped in 899 pools and tested by real-time RT-PCR for WNV and USUV RNA. All pools were negative for WNV while one pool each from 2016 (Aedes albopictus), 2017 (Culex pipiens complex), 2018 (Cx. pipiens complex), and 2019 (Cx. pipiens complex), respectively, was positive for USUV. The 2018 and 2019 positive pools shared 99.31% nucleotide homology within the USUV NS5 gene and both clustered within USUV Europe 2 lineage. The next-generation sequencing of one mosquito pool (Cx. pipiens complex) collected in 2018 in Zagreb confirmed the presence of USUV and revealed several dsDNA and ssRNA viruses of insect, bacterial and mammalian origin.

scholarly journals Genetic variation in West Nile virus from naturally infected mosquitoes and birds suggests quasispecies structure and strong purifying selection

2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (8) ◽  
pp. 2175-2183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greta Jerzak ◽  
Kristen A. Bernard ◽  
Laura D. Kramer ◽  
Gregory D. Ebel
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Consensus Sequence ◽  
Purifying Selection ◽  
Infected Mosquito ◽  
Structural Protein ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Transmission Cycle ◽  
The Mean

Intrahost genetic diversity was analysed in naturally infected mosquitoes and birds to determine whether West Nile virus (WNV) exists in nature as a quasispecies and to quantify selective pressures within and between hosts. WNV was sampled from ten infected birds and ten infected mosquito pools collected on Long Island, NY, USA, during the peak of the 2003 WNV transmission season. A 1938 nt fragment comprising the 3′ 1159 nt of the WNV envelope (E) coding region and the 5′ 779 nt of the non-structural protein 1 (NS1) coding region was amplified and cloned and 20 clones per specimen were sequenced. Results from this analysis demonstrate that WNV infections are derived from a genetically diverse population of genomes in nature. The mean nucleotide diversity was 0·016 % within individual specimens and the mean percentage of clones that differed from the consensus sequence was 19·5 %. WNV sequences in mosquitoes were significantly more genetically diverse than WNV in birds. No host-dependent bias for particular types of mutations was observed and estimates of genetic diversity did not differ significantly between E and NS1 coding sequences. Non-consensus clones obtained from two avian specimens had highly similar genetic signatures, providing preliminary evidence that WNV genetic diversity may be maintained throughout the enzootic transmission cycle, rather than arising independently during each infection. Evidence of purifying selection was obtained from both intra- and interhost WNV populations. Combined, these data support the observation that WNV populations may be structured as a quasispecies and document strong purifying natural selection in WNV populations.

Host Selection by Culex pipiens Mosquitoes and West Nile Virus Amplification

2009 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel L. Hamer ◽  
Tony L. Goldberg ◽  
Marilyn O. Ruiz ◽  
Jeffrey D. Brawn ◽  
Uriel D. Kitron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Host Selection ◽  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
West Nile

Characterization and Host-Feeding Patterns of Culex pipiens s.l. Taxa in a West Nile Virus-Endemic Area in Southeastern Romania

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgiana Victorița Tiron ◽  
Ioana Georgeta Stancu ◽  
Sorin Dinu ◽  
Florian Liviu Prioteasa ◽  
Elena Fălcuță ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
Endemic Area ◽  
Host Feeding ◽  
Feeding Patterns ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Culex Pipiens S.L

Influence of the microencapsulated pheromone from aged infusion as an oviposition medium of the West Nile virus vector Culex pipiens

2008 ◽  
Vol 104 (5) ◽  
pp. 1005-1009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonios Michaelakis ◽  
Anastasia. P. Mihou ◽  
George Koliopoulos ◽  
Elias. A. Couladouros
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
Virus Vector ◽  
The West ◽  
West Nile

scholarly journals Pre-existing Microfilarial Infections of American Robins (Passeriformes: Turdidae) and Common Grackles (Passeriformes: Icteridae) Have Limited Impact on Enhancing Dissemination of West Nile Virus in Culex pipiens Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jefferson A Vaughan ◽  
Juanita Hinson ◽  
Elizabeth S Andrews ◽  
Michael J Turell
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Viral Infection ◽  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Immature Stages ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Limited Impact ◽  
Nematode Parasites ◽  
American Robins ◽  
Specific Virus

Abstract Microfilariae (MF) are the immature stages of filarial nematode parasites and inhabit the blood and dermis of all classes of vertebrates, except fish. Concurrent ingestion of MF and arboviruses by mosquitoes can enhance mosquito transmission of virus compared to when virus is ingested alone. Shortly after being ingested, MF penetrate the mosquito’s midgut and may introduce virus into the mosquito’s hemocoel, creating a disseminated viral infection much sooner than normal. This phenomenon is known as microfilarial enhancement. Both American Robins and Common Grackles harbor MF—that is, Eufilaria sp. and Chandlerella quiscali von Linstow (Spirurida: Onchocercidae), respectively. We compared infection and dissemination rates in Culex pipiens L. mosquitoes that fed on birds with and without MF infections that had been infected with West Nile virus (WNV). At moderate viremias, about 107 plaque-forming units (pfu)/ml of blood, there were no differences in infection or dissemination rates among mosquitoes that ingested viremic blood from a bird with or without microfilaremia. At high viremias, >108.5 pfu/ml, mosquitoes feeding on a microfilaremic Grackle with concurrent viremia had significantly higher infection and dissemination rates than mosquitoes fed on viremic Grackles without microfilaremia. Microfilarial enhancement depends on the specific virus, MF, and mosquito species examined. How virus is introduced into the hemocoel by MF differs between the avian/WNV systems described here (i.e., leakage) and various arboviruses with MF of the human filarid, Brugia malayi (Brug) (Spirurida: Onchocercidae) (i.e., cotransport). Additional studies are needed to determine if other avian species and their MF are involved in the microfilarial enhancement of WNV in nature.

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