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First Isolation of La Crosse Virus from Naturally InfectedAedes albopictus

2001; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Volume: 7; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3201/eid0705.010506

1080-6059

Reid R. Gerhardt, Kristy L. Gottfried, Charles S. Apperson, Brent S. Davis, Paul C. Erwin, A. Brent Smith, Nicholas A. Panella, Eugene E. Powell, Roger S. Nasci,

Vector-Borne Animal Diseases

Abstract La Crosse (LAC) virus, a California serogroup bunyavirus, is the leading cause of pediatric arboviral encephalitis in the United States and an emerging disease in Tennessee, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Human cases of LAC encephalitis in Tennessee and North Carolina have increased above endemic levels during 1997 to 1999 and may represent an expansion of a new southeastern endemic focus. This report describes the isolation of LAC virus from the exotic mosquito Aedes albopictus. The discovery of LAC virus in wild populations of Ae. albopictus, coupled with its expanding distribution in the southeastern United States, suggests that this mosquito may become an important accessory vector, potentially increasing the number of human cases in endemic foci or expanding the range of the disease.