High Transmission Potential of West Nile Virus Lineage 1 for <i>Cx. pipiens</i> s.l. of Iran

• Main Authors: Hasan Bakhshi, Laurence Mousson, Marie Vazeille, Sedigheh Zakeri, Abbasali Raz, Xavier de Lamballerie, Navid Dinparast-Djadid, Anna-Bella Failloux
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Viruses
• Subjects: West Nile virus; vector competence; experimental infections; Iran
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/4/397

<b>: </b>Vector competence is an important parameter in evaluating whether a species plays a role in transmission of an arbovirus. Although the protocols are similar, interpretation of results is unique given the specific interactions that exist between a mosquito population and a viral genotype. Here, we assessed the infection (IR), dissemination (DR), and transmission (TR) rates of<i> Cx. pipiens</i> s.l., collected from Iran, for West Nile virus (WNV) lineage 1a. We showed that <i>Cx. pipiens</i> s.l. mosquitoes in Iran were susceptible to WNV with IR up to 89.7%, 93.6%, and 83.9% at 7, 14, and 21 days post-infection (dpi) respectively. In addition, DR and TR reached respectively 92.3% and 75.0% at 21 dpi, and the number of viral particles delivered with saliva reached up to 1.33 × 10⁵ particles. Therefore, an unexpected high risk of WNV dissemination in the region where <i>Cx. pipiens</i> s.l. mosquitoes are well established should be considered carefully and surveillance measures implemented accordingly.