Arbovirus surveillance on the Mexico–USA border: West Nile virus identification in various species of field mosquitoes

Abstract

West Nile virus (WNV) has been documented in human and/or mosquito samples near the border with Mexico in El Paso, Texas, and Doña Ana County, New Mexico. However, on the Mexican side of the border, particularly in the State of Chihuahua, no such cases of WNV-infected mosquitoes have been documented. We tested 367 mosquitoes of four species (Culex quinquefasciatus, Cx. tarsalis, Aedes aegypti, and Aedes (Ochlerotatus) epactius) and found a high rate of WNV-positivity, including the first record of Ae. (Ochlerotatus) epactius infection with WNV. These results call for intensifying WNV surveillance efforts on the border between the United States and Mexico, with particular emphasis on vector control and monitoring of the species included in this study. K E Y W O R D S Aedes (Ochlerotatus) epactius, flavivirus, mosquito, vector-borne-disease, West Nile virus David Mejia Zuñiga and Jorge Cime-Castillo contributed equally.

The Mosquito Fauna of Arizona: Species Composition and Public Health Implications

“…Interestingly, while Culex Linnaeus species are typically held responsible for the transmission of WNV (see below), Aedes albopictus can be a competent vector of the disease under laboratory conditions [ 29 ]. WNV has also been isolated from field-collected (i) Aedes albopictus in Baltimore, MD, in 2015 and 2017 [ 30 ], (ii) Aedes aegypti and Aedes epactius (Dyar & Knab) in Chihuahua (shares border with Texas, USA), Mexico, in 2021 [ 31 ], (iii) Aedes taeniorhynchus (Wiedemann) in eastern Puerto Rico, in 2007 [ 32 ], and (iv) Aedes vexans (Meigen) in New Jersey, in 2001 [ 33 ].…”