Isolation of Bovine Arboviruses from <I>Culicoides</I> Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Southern Japan: 1985–2002

Abstract

In 1985--2002, surveillance for bovine arboviruses was conducted in Kagoshima, located in the most southern part of the main islands of Japan and known to be an area where bovine arboviral diseases have frequently been epidemic. Culicoides biting midges were collected in a cowshed by light traps. A total of 456,300 Culicoides biting midges representing 13 species were collected, and a portion of each pool of midges were tested for virus isolation. Overall, 85 isolates of six different viruses were obtained from the collected midges. The isolated viruses included two Orthobunyaviruses, Akabane and Aino viruses; three Orbiviruses, Chuzan, D'Aguliar, and Ibaraki viruses; and one unclassified virus, a bunyavirus-like virus. The viruses were most frequently isolated from Culicoides oxystoma Kieffer (85.9% of 85 isolates). Isolations of all viruses except for the bunyavirus-like virus were made from this species. Our data indicated that C. oxystoma is a potential vector for bovine arboviruses in southern Japan.

Duration of Maternally Derived Antibodies against Akabane Virus in Calves: Survival Analysis

“…This virus is transmitted by a hematophagous arthropod vector. In Japan, Culicoides biting midges are primarily responsible for transmitting AKAV [11,24]. Akabane disease mostly occurs in the western and southern parts of Japan because the climates of those area are suitable for vector activity.…”

Isolation and characterization of Bluetongue virus from Culicoides brevitarsis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

“…In southern Japan, outbreaks of several arbovirus diseases of ruminants have been reported (Tsuda, 2000). Most of the viruses, such as the Akabane, Aino, Chuzan and Ibaraki viruses, are probably transmitted by Culicoides oxystoma Kie#er (Yanase et al, 2005). As Okinawa belongs to the subtropical zone, its Culicoides fauna are somewhat di#erent from those of the mainland of Japan (Hoshino, 1985;Henna et al, 1991;Wada et al, 1996;Sasaki et al, 2004).…”

“…Virus isolation: The collected midges were processed as described previously (Yanase et al, 2005). Briefly, each pool of midges excluding males was homogenized in culture medium consisting of Eagle's minimum essential medium and 0.295῏ tryptose phosphate broth supplemented with 10 mg/ml gentamicin sulfate and 2.5 mg/ml amphottericin B.…”

Detection of Culicoides brevitarsis Activity in Kyushu

“…In Japan, Culicoides biting midges are considered to play major roles in transmitting ruminant arboviruses, such as the Akabane virus (AKAV), Aino virus (AINOV), Chuzan virus (CHUV), Ibaraki virus (IBAV) and bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV) [5,21], which induce epidemic diseases causing substantial economic loss to the cattle industry. Most of these viruses have been repetitively and exclusively isolated from Culicoides oxystoma Kieffer in Japan [21]. C. oxystoma was first recorded in India in 1910 and occurs widely throughout the Middle East; East, South and Southeast Asia; and Oceania [9,19].…”