Skip to main content
PMC home page
Emerging Infectious Diseases logoLink to Emerging Infectious Diseases
. 2001 Sep-Oct;7(5):807–811. doi: 10.3201/eid0705.017506

First isolation of La Crosse virus from naturally infected Aedes albopictus.

R R Gerhardt 1, K L Gottfried 1, C S Apperson 1, B S Davis 1, P C Erwin 1, A B Smith 1, N A Panella 1, E E Powell 1, R S Nasci 1
PMCID: PMC2631884  PMID: 11747692

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.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (70.3 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Grimstad P. R., Kobayashi J. F., Zhang M. B., Craig G. B., Jr Recently introduced Aedes albopictus in the United States: potential vector of La Crosse virus (Bunyaviridae: California serogroup). J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 1989 Sep;5(3):422–427. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Jones T. F., Craig A. S., Nasci R. S., Patterson L. E., Erwin P. C., Gerhardt R. R., Ussery X. T., Schaffner W. Newly recognized focus of La Crosse encephalitis in Tennessee. Clin Infect Dis. 1999 Jan;28(1):93–97. doi: 10.1086/515087. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Jones T. F., Erwin P. C., Craig A. S., Baker P., Touhey K. E., Patterson L. E., Schaffner W. Serological survey and active surveillance for La Crosse virus infections among children in Tennessee. Clin Infect Dis. 2000 Nov;31(5):1284–1287. doi: 10.1086/317458. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Kappus K. D., Calisher C. H., Baron R. C., Davenport J., Francy D. B., Williams R. M. La Crosse virus infection and disease in western North Carolina. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1982 May;31(3 Pt 1):556–560. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1982.31.556. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kelsey D. S., Smith B. California virus encephalitis in North Carolina. N C Med J. 1978 Nov;39(11):654–656. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kjer K. M., Baldridge G. D., Fallon A. M. Mosquito large subunit ribosomal RNA: simultaneous alignment of primary and secondary structure. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1994 Mar 1;1217(2):147–155. doi: 10.1016/0167-4781(94)90028-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kuno G., Mitchell C. J., Chang G. J., Smith G. C. Detecting bunyaviruses of the Bunyamwera and California serogroups by a PCR technique. J Clin Microbiol. 1996 May;34(5):1184–1188. doi: 10.1128/jcm.34.5.1184-1188.1996. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Moore C. G., Mitchell C. J. Aedes albopictus in the United States: ten-year presence and public health implications. Emerg Infect Dis. 1997 Jul-Sep;3(3):329–334. doi: 10.3201/eid0303.970309. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Nasci R. S., Mitchell C. J. Arbovirus titer variation in field-collected mosquitoes. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 1996 Jun;12(2 Pt 1):167–171. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Nasci R. S., Moore C. G., Biggerstaff B. J., Panella N. A., Liu H. Q., Karabatsos N., Davis B. S., Brannon E. S. La Crosse encephalitis virus habitat associations in Nicholas County, West Virginia. J Med Entomol. 2000 Jul;37(4):559–570. doi: 10.1603/0022-2585-37.4.559. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Reno H. E., Vodkin M. H., Novak R. J. Differentiation of Aedes triseriatus (Say) from Aedes hendersoni Cockerell (Diptera: Culicidae) by restriction fragment length polymorphisms of amplified ribosomal DNA. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2000 Feb;62(2):193–199. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2000.62.193. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Steinly B. A., Novak R. J., Webb D. W. A new method for monitoring mosquito oviposition in artificial and natural containers. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 1991 Dec;7(4):649–650. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Szumlas D. E., Apperson C. S., Hartig P. C., Francy D. B., Karabatsos N. Seroepidemiology of La Crosse virus infection in humans in western North Carolina. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1996 Apr;54(4):332–337. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1996.54.332. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Szumlas D. E., Apperson C. S., Powell E. E., Hartig P., Francy D. B., Karabotsos N. Relative abundance and species composition of mosquito populations (Diptera:Culicidae) in a La Crosse virus-endemic area in western North Carolina. J Med Entomol. 1996 Jul;33(4):598–607. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/33.4.598. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Szumlas D. E., Apperson C. S., Powell E. E. Seasonal occurrence and abundance of Aedes triseriatus and other mosquitoes in a La Crosse virus-endemic area in western North Carolina. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 1996 Jun;12(2 Pt 1):184–193. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Tesh R. B. Experimental studies on the transovarial transmission of Kunjin and San Angelo viruses in mosquitoes. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1980 Jul;29(4):657–666. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1980.29.657. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Tesh R. B., Gubler D. J. Laboratory studies of transovarial transmission of La Crosse and other arboviruses by Aedes albopictus and Culex fatigans. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1975 Sep;24(5):876–880. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1975.24.876. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Emerging Infectious Diseases are provided here courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

RESOURCES