title: West Nile Virus in Mosquitoes of Iranian Wetlands.
abstract: The West Nile virus (WNV) transmission cycle includes a wide range of migratory wetland birds as reservoirs, mosquitoes as biological vectors, and equines and humans as dead-end hosts. Despite the presence of potential vector species, there is no information about the existence of WNV in mosquito vectors in Iran. The Iranian West Azerbaijan Province is located in the northwestern part of Iran and has borders with Turkey, Iraq, Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The current study was conducted to identify the wetland mosquitoes of the West Azerbaijan Province and their infection with WNV. In this study, 2143 specimens were collected, comprising 1541 adults and 602 larvae. Six species belonging to four genera were collected and identified: Anopheles maculipennis sensu lato (s.l.), Culex (Cx.) hortensis, Cx. pipiens s.l., Cx. theileri, Culiseta longiareolata, and Aedes (Ae.) (Ochlerotatus) caspius. In total, 45 pools of mosquitoes were examined. Two of the adult pools collected from the same location showed the presence of WNV in Ae. (Och.) caspius, from Sangar, Makoo County, as confirmed by PCR and sequencing. Due to the discovery of WNV in the mosquito population of the region, and the presence of wetlands and significant populations of migratory birds, the health sector should carefully monitor the factors involved in the cycle of this disease.
authors.affiliation: 1 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Urmia University of Medical Sciences , Urmia, Iran .|2 Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Urmia University of Medical Sciences , Urmia, Iran .
authors.forename: Masoomeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bagheri
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) , Uppsala, Sweden .
authors.forename: Olle
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Terenius
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran, Iran .
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Oshaghi
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences , Urmia, Iran .|6 Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Urmia University of Medical Sciences , Urmia, Iran .
authors.forename: Morteza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motazakker
authors.affiliation: 7 School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland , St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia .
authors.forename: Sassan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asgari
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Urmia University of Medical Sciences , Urmia, Iran .
authors.forename: Farrokh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dabiri
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran, Iran .
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vatandoost
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Urmia University of Medical Sciences , Urmia, Iran .|4 Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran, Iran .
authors.forename: Mulood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohammadi Bavani
authors.affiliation: 1 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Urmia University of Medical Sciences , Urmia, Iran .|2 Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Urmia University of Medical Sciences , Urmia, Iran .
authors.forename: Ali Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Chavshin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D009033:Culicidae / Q000821:virology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology*; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D007814:Larva; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D053833:Wetlands
keywords: Arboviruses; Culicidae; Iran; West Nile virus