Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) From Florida Transmitted Zika Virus

Chelsea T Smartt; Dongyoung Shin; Seokyoung Kang; Walter J Tabachnick

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.00768

Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) From Florida Transmitted Zika Virus

Front Microbiol. 2018 Apr 26:9:768. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00768. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Chelsea T Smartt¹, Dongyoung Shin¹, Seokyoung Kang², Walter J Tabachnick¹

Affiliations

¹ Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, Department of Entomology and Nematology, IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
² Infectious Diseases & Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.

Abstract

We report a laboratory colony of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes were experimentally able to salivate Zika virus (ZIKV, Flaviviridae; Flavivirus) at 16 days post infection (dpi). ZIKV RNA was detected in bodies and in saliva deposited on filter paper cards with subsequent studies demonstrating the presence of live ZIKV in saliva.

Keywords: Culex quinquefasciatus; Zika virus; mosquito; saliva; transmission.

Abstract

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