Venereal transmission of St. Louis encephalitis virus by Culex quinquefasciatus males (Diptera: Culicidae).
Uninfected, virgin, colonized Culex quinquefasciatus Say females became infected when caged with males that had been infected with St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus by inoculation. When these females were assayed 7 or 28 d after first exposure to infected males, 23% and 25%, respectively, were infected with SLE virus. Fifty-eight percent (n = 83) of the inseminated females were infected with SLE virus, whereas only 23% (n = 23) of virgin females were infected. These data show that at least some of the horizontal transmission demonstrated was by a venereal route. This study indicates that if Cx. quinquefasciatus males were infected vertically with SLE virus in nature, they could infect their female mates horizontally.
Shroyer
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Pacific Biomedical Research Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96816.
D000818:Animals; D003307:Copulation; D003465:Culex / Q000382:microbiology*; D004665:Encephalitis Virus, St. Louis; D005260:Female; D005416:Flavivirus; D008297:Male