Isolation and Characterization of Sylvatic Mosquito-Borne Viruses in Trinidad: Enzootic Transmission and a New Potential Vector of Mucambo Virus

Abstract

Mosquito surveillance was carried out in three forested regions of Trinidad during July 2007–March 2009. A total of 185,397 mosquitoes representing at least 46 species was collected, divided into pools of 1–50 mosquitoes according to species and sex, and screened for arboviruses using cytopathic effect assays on Vero cell monolayers. Eighty-five viruses were isolated, including members of the genera Alphavirus (Mucambo virus; MUCV) and Orthobunyavirus (Caraparu, Oriboca, Bimiti, and Wyeomyia viruses). Species of the Culex subgenus Melanoconion accounted for 56% of the total number of mosquitoes collected and 97% of the viruses isolated; Cx. (Mel.) portesi accounted for 92% of virus isolations. Our results also implicate for the first time Aedes (Ochlerotatus) hortator as a potential vector of MUCV. Phylogenetic analyses of 43 MUCV strains suggest population subdivision within Trinidad, consistent with the hypothesis of enzootic maintenance in localized rodent populations.

Species Diversity, Seasonal, and Spatial Distribution of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) Captured in <I>Aotus</I> Monkey-Baited Traps in a Forested Site Near Iquitos, Peru

“…Previous studies have isolated numerous viruses directly from captured mosquitoes (Karabatsos 1985;Turell et al 2000;Turell et al 2005Turell et al , 2006Turell et al , 2008Yanoviak et al 2005;Auguste et al 2010;Cardoso et al 2010;Moreno et al 2011), but data on the vector competence of many of the mosquitoes collected in this study are unavailable. Isolation of a virus from a mosquito is not indicative of viral transmission.…”

“…pedroi, which accounted for eight mosquitoes captured per day and was the second most common mosquito captured in this study, is a proven vector of eastern equine encephalitis virus (Turell et al 2008). Multiple viruses have been isolated from this species, including Caraparu, Itaqui, Mirim, and VEE viruses (Turell et al 2000(Turell et al , 2005Auguste et al 2010). Ps.…”

A Multicomponent Animal Virus Isolated from Mosquitoes

“…Mosquitoes were collected in Panama, Peru and Trinidad during 2008 – 2013 as a part of several surveillance studies looking for arbo- and insect-specific viruses (Table 1) (Auguste et al, 2010; Vasilakis et al, 2014). In total, six isolates of GCXV were detected through random amplification and high-throughput sequencing.…”

Serological Evidence of Flaviviruses and Alphaviruses in Livestock and Wildlife in Trinidad

“…These studies resulted in the identification and characterization of hundreds of arboviral isolates, primarily from the Bush Bush Forest, which is an approximately 0.85-sq km region within the Nariva swamp in southeastern Trinidad (Aitken et al 1968c;Jonkers et al 1968aJonkers et al , 1968bWorth et al 1968). With the exception of the aforementioned studies, there have been only a few serological studies in the 1970s and early 1980s (Price 1978a(Price , 1978bTikasingh et al 1983), and more recently, mosquito surveillance studies and opportunistic sampling of carcasses of Alouatta seniculus monkeys 1 School of Veterinary Medicine, confirmed the continued circulation of VEE subytpe IIIA viruses (Mucambo virus; MUCV), several orthobunyaviruses, and Yellow fever virus (YFV) (Auguste et al 2009(Auguste et al , 2010a(Auguste et al , 2010b.…”