Assessing vector competence of mosquitoes from northeastern France to West Nile virus and Usutu virus

Martinet, Jean-Philippe; Bohers, Chloé; Vazeille, Marie; Ferté, Hubert; Mousson, Laurence; Mathieu, Bruno; Depaquit, Jérôme; Failloux, Anna‐Bella

doi:10.1101/2023.02.07.527438

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The viral RNA copies quantified in the mosquitoes in this study are consistent with other reports that measured viral loads in Culex pipiens pipiens infected with WNV (48,67) and USUV (67). There was no significant difference in Culex pipiens pipiens body titers between USUV EU and USUV AF, but only USUV AF was able to disseminate to the head, wings, and legs.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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BelgianCulex pipiens pipiensare competent vectors for West Nile virus but not Usutu virus

Soto,

Coninck,

Devlies

et al. 2023

Preprint

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West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) are emerging arboviruses in Europe transmitted by Culex mosquitoes. In Belgium, it is currently unknown which Culex species are competent vectors for WNV or USUV and if these mosquitoes carry Wolbachia, an endosymbiotic bacterium that can block arbovirus transmission. The aims of our study were to measure the vector competence of Belgian Culex mosquitoes to WNV and USUV and determine if a naturally acquired Wolbachia infection can influence virus transmission. We captured 876 non-engorged female Culex mosquitoes from urban and peri-urban sites in Leuven, Belgium. We provided females with an infectious bloodmeal containing WNV lineage 2, USUV European (EU) lineage 3, or USUV African (AF) lineage 3. Blood-fed females (n=154) were incubated for 14 days at 25C after which the body, head, and saliva were collected to measure infection (IR), dissemination (DR), and transmission (TR) rates, respectively. Mosquito species were identified by qRT-PCR or Sanger sequencing, the presence of infectious virus in mosquitoes was confirmed by plaque assays, and viral genome copies were quantified by qRT-PCR. We found that Culex pipiens pipiens were able to transmit WNV (11% IR, 40% DR, 100% TR) but not USUV (EU lineage: 13% IR, 0% DR; AF lineage: 16% IR, 17% DR, 0% TR). In contrast, Culex modestus was able to transmit USUV (AF lineage: 60% IR, 67% DR, 50% TR), but not WNV (0% IR). We found that the presence or absence of Wolbachia was species-dependent and did not associate with virus transmission. This is the first report that Belgian Culex mosquitoes can transmit both WNV and USUV, forewarning the risk of human transmission. More research is needed to understand the potential influence of Wolbachia on arbovirus transmission in Culex modestus mosquitoes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…A field study on French Culex pipiens s.l. also observed a low infection rate for USUV EU lineage 3 (1.4%) while infection was much higher for WNV lineage 1 (38.7%) (48). Furthermore, a study on American Culex pipiens pipiens found that they were unable to transmit USUV (a Netherlands 2016 isolate) (49).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

BelgianCulex pipiens pipiensare competent vectors for West Nile virus but not Usutu virus

Soto,

Coninck,

Devlies

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In addition, the detection of WNV in Ae. albopictus echoes recent findings that this urban and anthropophilic mosquito species is able to transmit WNV and USUV under experimental conditions 38 . Unlike Culex mosquitoes, this invasive species has been reported to have strict mammalian orientated feeding preferences 39 and an avian component is a prerequisite for amplification of these viruses prior to infection of mosquitoes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Molecular Xenomonitoring (MX) allows real-time surveillance of West Nile and Usutu virus in mosquito populations

Bigeard,

Pezzi,

Klitting

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background West Nile (WNV) and Usutu (USUV) virus are vector-borne flaviviruses causing neuroinvasive infections in both humans and animals. Entomological surveillance is a method of choice for identifying virus circulation ahead of the first human and animal cases, but performing molecular screening of vectors is expensive, and time-consuming. Methods We implemented the MX (Molecular Xenomonitoring) strategy for the detection of WNV and USUV circulation in mosquito populations in rural and urban areas in Nouvelle-Aquitaine region (France) between July and August 2023, using modified BG Sentinel traps. We first performed molecular screening and sequencing on excreta from trapped mosquitoes before confirming the results by detecting, sequencing and isolating viruses from individual mosquitoes. Findings We identified WNV and USUV-infected mosquitoes in 3 different areas, concurrently with the first human cases reported in the region. Trapped mosquito excreta revealed substantial virus co-circulation (75% of traps had PCR+ excreta for at least one of both viruses). Cx. pipiens was the most common species infected by both WNV and USUV. Genomic data from excreta and mosquitoes showed the circulation of WNV lineage 2 and USUV lineage Africa 3, both phylogenetically close to strains that circulated in Europe in recent years. Four WNV and 3 USUV strains were isolated from trapped mosquitoes. Interpretation MX strategy is easy and rapid to implement on the field, and has proven its effectiveness in detecting WNV and USUV circulation in local mosquito populations.

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“…1 B, C) [ 55 ]. The drop in IR observed over time is less expected, but not unique to this study [ [56] , [57] , [58] , [59] , [60] ]. It has been suggested that observations of decreasing IRs could be due to mortality in infected mosquitoes or that mosquitoes could clear the virus at later time points [ 60 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Vector competence of Swedish Culex pipiens mosquitoes for Usutu virus

Krambrich,

Bole-Feysot,

Höller

et al. 2024

One Health

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Assessing vector competence of mosquitoes from northeastern France to West Nile virus and Usutu virus

Cited by 8 publications

References 44 publications

BelgianCulex pipiens pipiensare competent vectors for West Nile virus but not Usutu virus

BelgianCulex pipiens pipiensare competent vectors for West Nile virus but not Usutu virus

Molecular Xenomonitoring (MX) allows real-time surveillance of West Nile and Usutu virus in mosquito populations

Vector competence of Swedish Culex pipiens mosquitoes for Usutu virus

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