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THE VECTOR COMPETENCE OF AUSTRALIAN CULEX ANNULIROSTRIS WITH MURRAY VALLEY ENCEPHALITIS AND KUNJIN VIRUSES
Author(s) -
Kay BH,
Fanning ID,
Carley JG
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
australian journal of experimental biology and medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0004-945X
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1984.61
Subject(s) - biology , virology , virus , northern territory , geography , archaeology
Summary Australian populations of Culex annulirostris Skuse from 10 localities, Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns, Charleville, Kowanyama (Queensland), Darwin (Northern Territory), Mildura (Victoria) and Port Hedland, Karratha and Mt. Tom Price (Western Australia) showed considerable heterogeneity in response to oral infection with low passage level Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) and Kunjin (KUN) viruses. However, there was no consistent pattern of either high or low vector efficiency for populations collected from different regions. Overall, Cx annulirostris was a more competent vector of MVE virus than KUN virus, both in oral susceptibility (suckling mouse intracerebral ID 50 of 10 1.7 ‐10 3.9 compared to 10 2.7 ‐10 4.8 /mosquito, respectively) and in ability to transmit virus to chicks after 10 d extrinsic incubation (50–89% compared to 0–55%). High or low susceptibility with one virus did not correlate with susceptibility for the other. Although these data were probably subject to some seasonal variation, they generally support the view that Cx annulirostris is the principal vector of MVE in Australia. Poor to moderate susceptibility with KUN suggests that (1) it is only a minor vector in some localities, (2) vertebrate hosts have high viraemias or (3) the strain used may have been atypical.