As part of our ongoing surveillance efforts for West Nile virus (WNV) in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, 96,687 mosquitoes collected from January through December 2007 were assayed by virus isolation in mammalian cells. Three mosquito pools caused cytopathic effect. Two isolates were orthobunyaviruses (Cache Valley virus and Kairi virus) and the identity of the third infectious agent was not determined. A subset of mosquitoes was also tested by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using WNV-, flavivirus-, alphavirus-, and orthobunyavirus-specific primers. A total of 7,009 Culex quinquefasciatus in 210 pools were analyzed. Flavivirus RNA was detected in 146 (70%) pools, and all PCR products were sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of one PCR product was most closely related (71-73% identity) with homologous regions of several other flaviviruses, including WNV, St. Louis encephalitis virus, and Ilheus virus. These data suggest that a novel flavivirus (tentatively named T'Ho virus) is present in Mexico. The other 145 PCR products correspond to Culex flavivirus, an insect-specific flavivirus first isolated in Japan in 2003. Culex flavivirus was isolated in mosquito cells from approximately one in four homogenates tested. The genomic sequence of one isolate was determined. Surprisingly, heterogeneous sequences were identified at the distal end of the 5' untranslated region. Disciplines Entomology | Molecular Genetics | Virology | Virus Diseases CommentsThis is an author's manuscript of an article from The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 80 (2008 AbstractAs part of our ongoing surveillance efforts for West Nile virus (WNV) in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, 96,687 mosquitoes collected from January through December 2007 were assayed by virus isolation in mammalian cells. Three mosquito pools caused cytopathic effect. Two isolates were orthobunyaviruses (Cache Valley virus and Kairi virus) and the identity of the third infectious agent was not determined. A subset of mosquitoes was also tested by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using WNV-, flavivirus-, alphavirus-, and orthobunyavirus-specific primers. A total of 7,009 Culex quinquefasciatus in 210 pools were analyzed. Flavivirus RNA was detected in 146 (70%) pools, and all PCR products were sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of one PCR product was most closely related (71-73% identity) with homologous regions of several other flaviviruses, including WNV, St. Louis encephalitis virus, and Ilheus virus. These data suggest that a novel flavivirus (tentatively named T'Ho virus) is present in Mexico. The other 145 PCR products correspond to Culex flavivirus, an insect-specific flavivirus first isolated in Japan in 2003. Culex flavivirus was isolated in mosquito cells from approximately one in four homogenates tested. The genomic sequence of one isolate was determined. Surprisingly, heterogeneous sequences were identified at the distal end of the 5′ untranslated region.

We determined abundance of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and presence of dengue virus (DENV) in females collected from premises of laboratory-confirmed dengue patients over a 12-month period (March 2007 to February 2008) in Merida, Mexico. Backpack aspiration from 880 premises produced 1,836 females and 1,292 males indoors (predominantly from bedrooms) and 102 females and 108 males from patios/backyards. The mean weekly indoor catch rate per home peaked at 7.8 females in late August. Outdoor abundances of larvae or pupae were not predictive of female abundance inside the home. DENV-infected Ae. aegypti females were recovered from 34 premises. Collection of DENV-infected females from homes of dengue patients up to 27 days after the onset of symptoms (median, 14 days) shows the usefulness of indoor insecticide application in homes of suspected dengue patients to prevent their homes from becoming sources for dispersal of DENV by persons visiting and being bitten by infected mosquitoes.

Abstract. The co-circulation of all 4 dengue virus serotypes in the same community, common since the 1950s in Southeast Asia, has now become a frequent occurrence in many Caribbean Islands, Mexico, and Central and South America in the past 20 years. As a consequence, the frequency of concurrent infections would be expected to increase in these areas. To assess this, using state of the art technology, we screened viremic serum samples and mosquitoes inoculated with serum samples collected during epidemics involving multiple dengue virus serotypes in Indonesia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico for virus isolation. Of 292 samples tested, 16 (5.5%) were found to contain 2 or more dengue viruses by an indirect immunofluorescence test and/or the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.The global epidemiology of dengue/dengue hemorrhagic fever (DF/DHF) has changed dramatically in the past 50 years, first in Southeast Asia during and following World War II, and in the past 20 years in other tropical regions of the world, especially in the Americas.

Abstract. The home, or domicile, is the principal environment for transmission of dengue virus (DENV) between humans and mosquito vectors. Community-wide distribution of insecticide-treated curtains (ITCs), mimicking vector control program-driven interventions, has shown promise to reduce DENV infections. We conducted a Casa Segura consumer product intervention study in Mérida, Mexico to determine the potential to reduce intradomicillary DENV transmission through ITC use in individual homes. Dengue virus infections in mosquitoes and in humans were reduced in homes with ITCs in one of two study subareas. Overall, ITCs reduced intradomicillary DENV transmission; ITC homes were significantly less likely to experience multiple DENV infections in humans than NTC homes. Dengue virus-infected Aedes aegypti females were reduced within the ITC homes where curtain use was highest. Some homes yielded up to nine infected Ae. aegypti females. This study provides insights regarding best practices for Casa Segura interventions to protect homes from intradomicillary DENV transmission.

Serum samples were obtained from 252 horses in the State of Yucatan, Mexico, from July to October 2002. Antibodies to West Nile virus were detected by epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in three (1.2%) horses and confirmed by plaque reduction neutralization test. We report the first West Nile virus activity in the State of Yucatan.

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A total of 191,244 mosquitoes from 24 species were collected in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from January to December 2008, and tested for the presence of cytopathic virus by virus isolation in Vero cells. Eighteen virus isolates were obtained, all of which were orthobunyaviruses. These were identified by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and nucleotide sequencing as Cache Valley virus (n ¼ 17) and South River virus (n ¼ 1). A subset (n ¼ 20,124) of Culex quinquefasciatus collected throughout the year was further tested by RT-PCR using flavivirus-specific primers. Flavivirus RNA was present in this mosquito species year-round. The overall flavivirus minimal infection rate, expressed as the number of positive mosquito pools per 1000 mosquitoes tested, was 7.7 and the monthly flavivirus minimal infection rates ranged from 4.3 to 16.6. Approximately one-third of the RT-PCR products were sequenced and all corresponded to Culex flavivirus, a recently discovered insect-specific flavivirus.