Autochthonous Transmission of West Nile Virus by a New Vector in Iran, Vector-Host Interaction Modeling and Virulence Gene Determinants.

ABSTRACT: Using molecular techniques and bioinformatics tools, we studied the vector-host interactions and the molecular epidemiology of West Nile virus (WNV) in western Iran. Mosquitoes were collected during 2017 and 2018. DNA typing assays were used to study vector-host interactions. Mosquitoes were screened by RT-PCR for the genomes of five virus families. WNV-positive samples were fully sequenced and evolutionary tree and molecular architecture were constructed by Geneious software and SWISS-MODEL workspace, respectively. A total of 5028 mosquito specimens were collected and identified. The most prevalent species was Culex (Cx.) pipiens complex (57.3%). Analysis of the blood-feeding preferences of blood-fed mosquitoes revealed six mammalian and one bird species as hosts. One mosquito pool

SUBMITTER: Shahhosseini N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7766443 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature