Transmission of Rift Valley fever virus from European-breed lambs to Culex pipiens mosquitoes

Background: Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne bunyavirus of the genus Phlebovirus that is highly pathogenic to ruminants and humans. The disease is currently confined to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, but globalization and climate change may facilitate introductions of the virus into currently unaffected areas via infected animals or mosquitoes. The consequences of such an introduction will depend on environmental factors, the availability of susceptible ruminants and the capacity of local mosquitoes to transmit the virus. We have previously demonstrated that lambs native to the Netherlands are highly susceptible to RVFV and we here report the vector competence of Culex (Cx.) pipiens, the most abundant and widespread mosquito species in the country. Vector competence was first determined after artificial blood feeding of laboratory-reared mosquitoes using the attenuated Clone 13 strain. Subsequently, experiments with wild-type RVFV and mosquitoes hatched from field-collected eggs were performed. Finally, the transmission of RVFV from viremic lambs to mosquitoes was studied. Principal findings: Artificial feeding experiments using Clone 13 demonstrated that indigenous, laboratory-reared Cx. pipiens mosquitoes are susceptible to RVFV and that the virus can be transmitted via their saliva. Experiments with wild-type RVFV and mosquitoes hatched from field-collected eggs confirmed the vector competence of Cx. pipiens mosquitoes from the Netherlands. To subsequently investigate transmission of the virus under more natural conditions, mosquitoes were allowed to feed on RVFV-infected lambs during the viremic period. We found that RVFV is efficiently transmitted from lambs to mosquitoes, although transmission was restricted to peak viremia. Interestingly, in the mosquito-exposed skin samples, replication of RVFV was detected in previously unrecognized target cells. Significance: We here report the vector competence of Cx. pipiens mosquitoes from the Netherlands for RVFV. Both laboratory-reared mosquitoes and well as those hatched from field-collected eggs were found to be competent vectors. Moreover, RVFV was transmitted efficiently from indigenous lambs to mosquitoes, although the duration of host infectivity was found to be shorter than previously assumed. Interestingly, analysis of mosquito-exposed skin samples revealed previously unidentified target cells of the virus. Our findings underscore the value of including natural target species in vector competence experiments.

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Main Authors: Vloet, Rianka P.M., Vogels, Chantal B.F., Koenraadt, Constantianus J.M., Pijlman, Gorben P., Eiden, Martin, Gonzales, Jose L., van Keulen, Lucien J.M., Wichgers Schreur, Paul J., Kortekaas, Jeroen
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Language:English
Subjects:017-4068,
Online Access:https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/transmission-of-rift-valley-fever-virus-from-european-breed-lambs
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spelling dig-wur-nl-wurpubs-5319652024-12-04 Vloet, Rianka P.M. Vogels, Chantal B.F. Koenraadt, Constantianus J.M. Pijlman, Gorben P. Eiden, Martin Gonzales, Jose L. van Keulen, Lucien J.M. Wichgers Schreur, Paul J. Kortekaas, Jeroen Article/Letter to editor PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 11 (2017) 12 ISSN: 1935-2727 Transmission of Rift Valley fever virus from European-breed lambs to Culex pipiens mosquitoes 2017 Background: Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne bunyavirus of the genus Phlebovirus that is highly pathogenic to ruminants and humans. The disease is currently confined to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, but globalization and climate change may facilitate introductions of the virus into currently unaffected areas via infected animals or mosquitoes. The consequences of such an introduction will depend on environmental factors, the availability of susceptible ruminants and the capacity of local mosquitoes to transmit the virus. We have previously demonstrated that lambs native to the Netherlands are highly susceptible to RVFV and we here report the vector competence of Culex (Cx.) pipiens, the most abundant and widespread mosquito species in the country. Vector competence was first determined after artificial blood feeding of laboratory-reared mosquitoes using the attenuated Clone 13 strain. Subsequently, experiments with wild-type RVFV and mosquitoes hatched from field-collected eggs were performed. Finally, the transmission of RVFV from viremic lambs to mosquitoes was studied. Principal findings: Artificial feeding experiments using Clone 13 demonstrated that indigenous, laboratory-reared Cx. pipiens mosquitoes are susceptible to RVFV and that the virus can be transmitted via their saliva. Experiments with wild-type RVFV and mosquitoes hatched from field-collected eggs confirmed the vector competence of Cx. pipiens mosquitoes from the Netherlands. To subsequently investigate transmission of the virus under more natural conditions, mosquitoes were allowed to feed on RVFV-infected lambs during the viremic period. We found that RVFV is efficiently transmitted from lambs to mosquitoes, although transmission was restricted to peak viremia. Interestingly, in the mosquito-exposed skin samples, replication of RVFV was detected in previously unrecognized target cells. Significance: We here report the vector competence of Cx. pipiens mosquitoes from the Netherlands for RVFV. Both laboratory-reared mosquitoes and well as those hatched from field-collected eggs were found to be competent vectors. Moreover, RVFV was transmitted efficiently from indigenous lambs to mosquitoes, although the duration of host infectivity was found to be shorter than previously assumed. Interestingly, analysis of mosquito-exposed skin samples revealed previously unidentified target cells of the virus. Our findings underscore the value of including natural target species in vector competence experiments. en application/pdf https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/transmission-of-rift-valley-fever-virus-from-european-breed-lambs 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006145 https://edepot.wur.nl/431945 017-4068 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Wageningen University & Research
institution WUR NL
collection DSpace
country Países bajos
countrycode NL
component Bibliográfico
access En linea
databasecode dig-wur-nl
tag biblioteca
region Europa del Oeste
libraryname WUR Library Netherlands
language English
topic 017-4068
017-4068
spellingShingle 017-4068
017-4068
Vloet, Rianka P.M.
Vogels, Chantal B.F.
Koenraadt, Constantianus J.M.
Pijlman, Gorben P.
Eiden, Martin
Gonzales, Jose L.
van Keulen, Lucien J.M.
Wichgers Schreur, Paul J.
Kortekaas, Jeroen
Transmission of Rift Valley fever virus from European-breed lambs to Culex pipiens mosquitoes
description Background: Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne bunyavirus of the genus Phlebovirus that is highly pathogenic to ruminants and humans. The disease is currently confined to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, but globalization and climate change may facilitate introductions of the virus into currently unaffected areas via infected animals or mosquitoes. The consequences of such an introduction will depend on environmental factors, the availability of susceptible ruminants and the capacity of local mosquitoes to transmit the virus. We have previously demonstrated that lambs native to the Netherlands are highly susceptible to RVFV and we here report the vector competence of Culex (Cx.) pipiens, the most abundant and widespread mosquito species in the country. Vector competence was first determined after artificial blood feeding of laboratory-reared mosquitoes using the attenuated Clone 13 strain. Subsequently, experiments with wild-type RVFV and mosquitoes hatched from field-collected eggs were performed. Finally, the transmission of RVFV from viremic lambs to mosquitoes was studied. Principal findings: Artificial feeding experiments using Clone 13 demonstrated that indigenous, laboratory-reared Cx. pipiens mosquitoes are susceptible to RVFV and that the virus can be transmitted via their saliva. Experiments with wild-type RVFV and mosquitoes hatched from field-collected eggs confirmed the vector competence of Cx. pipiens mosquitoes from the Netherlands. To subsequently investigate transmission of the virus under more natural conditions, mosquitoes were allowed to feed on RVFV-infected lambs during the viremic period. We found that RVFV is efficiently transmitted from lambs to mosquitoes, although transmission was restricted to peak viremia. Interestingly, in the mosquito-exposed skin samples, replication of RVFV was detected in previously unrecognized target cells. Significance: We here report the vector competence of Cx. pipiens mosquitoes from the Netherlands for RVFV. Both laboratory-reared mosquitoes and well as those hatched from field-collected eggs were found to be competent vectors. Moreover, RVFV was transmitted efficiently from indigenous lambs to mosquitoes, although the duration of host infectivity was found to be shorter than previously assumed. Interestingly, analysis of mosquito-exposed skin samples revealed previously unidentified target cells of the virus. Our findings underscore the value of including natural target species in vector competence experiments.
format Article/Letter to editor
topic_facet 017-4068
author Vloet, Rianka P.M.
Vogels, Chantal B.F.
Koenraadt, Constantianus J.M.
Pijlman, Gorben P.
Eiden, Martin
Gonzales, Jose L.
van Keulen, Lucien J.M.
Wichgers Schreur, Paul J.
Kortekaas, Jeroen
author_facet Vloet, Rianka P.M.
Vogels, Chantal B.F.
Koenraadt, Constantianus J.M.
Pijlman, Gorben P.
Eiden, Martin
Gonzales, Jose L.
van Keulen, Lucien J.M.
Wichgers Schreur, Paul J.
Kortekaas, Jeroen
author_sort Vloet, Rianka P.M.
title Transmission of Rift Valley fever virus from European-breed lambs to Culex pipiens mosquitoes
title_short Transmission of Rift Valley fever virus from European-breed lambs to Culex pipiens mosquitoes
title_full Transmission of Rift Valley fever virus from European-breed lambs to Culex pipiens mosquitoes
title_fullStr Transmission of Rift Valley fever virus from European-breed lambs to Culex pipiens mosquitoes
title_full_unstemmed Transmission of Rift Valley fever virus from European-breed lambs to Culex pipiens mosquitoes
title_sort transmission of rift valley fever virus from european-breed lambs to culex pipiens mosquitoes
url https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/transmission-of-rift-valley-fever-virus-from-european-breed-lambs
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