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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #307091
Title: Natural vertical transmission of Ndumu virus in Culex pipiens (Diptera; Culicidae) mosquitoes collected as larvae

Author
item LUTOMIAH, JOEL - Kenya Medical Research Institute
item ONGUS, JULIETTE - Jomo Kenyatta University
item Linthicum, Kenneth - Ken
item SANG, ROSEMARY - Kenya Medical Research Institute

Submitted to: Journal of Medical Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2014
Publication Date: 9/1/2014
Citation: Lutomiah, J., Ongus, J., Linthicum, K., Sang, R. 2014. Natural vertical transmission of Ndumu virus in Culex pipiens (Diptera; Culicidae) mosquitoes collected as larvae. Journal of Medical Entomology. 51(5): 1091-1095.

Interpretive Summary: Ndumu virus has been detected in mosquitoes in Kenya. Although it is not known to cause disease in humans or animals it is related to other viruses which do cause human disease, such as chikungunya in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean and Ross River in Australia. Although little is known about the biology of this virus it was discovered in immature stages of the Common House Mosquito, Culex pipiens, indicating that the virus is passed from the female mosquito into its eggs and then to the subsequent generation. This is an important finding regarding the natural maintenance of this virus and other related alphaviruses in general. This is also the first time that Ndumu virus has been associated with Cx. pipiens mosquitoes, a mosquito that is found throughout the world in temperate regions.

Technical Abstract: Ndumu virus (NDUV) is a member of the Family: Togaviridae and Genus: Alphavirus. In Kenya the virus has been isolated from a range of mosquito species but has not been associated with human or animal morbidity. Little is know about the transmission dynamics or vertebrate reservoirs of this virus. We isolated NDUV from two pools, IJR37 (N=18) and IJR73 (N=3), of female Culex pipiens mosquitoes collected as larvae on April 15th 2013 from two dambos near the village of Marey, Ijara, Northeastern Kenya. These results represent the first field evidence of natural vertical transmission of NDUV among mosquitoes.