Vector competence of Culex quinquefasciatus from Brazil for West Nile Virus

• Autor(a) principal: Reis, Lúcia Aline Moura
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Silva, Eliana Vieira Pinto da, Dias, Daniel Damous, Freitas, Maria Nazaré Oliveira, Caldeira, Rossela Damasceno, Araújo, Pedro Arthur da Silva, Silva, Fábio Silva da, Rosa Junior, José Wilson, Brandão, Roberto Carlos Feitosa, Nascimento, Bruna Laís Sena do, Martins, Lívia Caricio, Nunes Neto, Joaquim Pinto
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Digital do Instituto Evandro Chagas (Patuá)
• Texto Completo: https://patua.iec.gov.br/handle/iec/6820
• topic: Vírus do Nilo Ocidental / isolamento & purificação; Vírus do Nilo Ocidental / patogenicidade; Infecções por Arbovirus / transmissão; Culex / anatomia & histologia; Cavalos / anatomia & histologia

West Nile virus is characterized as a neurotropic pathogen, which can cause West Nile fever and is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Culex. In 2018, the Instituto Evandro Chagas performed the first isolation of a WNV strain in Brazil from a horse brain sample. The present study aimed to evaluate the susceptibility of orally infected Cx. quinquefasciatus from the Amazon region of Brazil to become infected and transmit the WNV strain isolated in 2018. Oral infection was performed with blood meal artificially infected with WNV, followed by analysis of infection, dissemination, and transmission rates, as well as viral titers of body, head, and saliva samples. At the 21st dpi, the infection rate was 100%, the dissemination rate was 80%, and the transmission rate was 77%. These results indicate that Cx. quinquefasciatus is susceptible to oral infection by the Brazilian strain of WNV and may act as a possible vector of the virus since it was detected in saliva from the 21st dpi.