Local persistence of novel regional variants of La Crosse virus in the Northeast USA.

ABSTRACT:

Background

La Crosse virus (LACV) (genus Orthobunyavirus, family Peribunyaviridae) is a mosquito-borne virus that causes pediatric encephalitis and accounts for 50-150 human cases annually in the USA. Human cases occur primarily in the Midwest and Appalachian regions whereas documented human cases occur very rarely in the northeastern USA.

Methods

Following detection of a LACV isolate from a field-collected mosquito in Connecticut during 2005, we evaluated the prevalence of LACV infection in local mosquito populations and genetically characterized virus isolates to determine whether the virus is maintained focally in this region.

Results

During 2018, we detected LACV in multiple species of mosquitoes, including those not previously associated with the virus. We also e

SUBMITTER: Eastwood G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7659055 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature