Arbovirus surveillance on the Mexico-USA border: West Nile virus identification in various species of field mosquitoes

Trop Med Int Health. 2023 May;28(5):401-408. doi: 10.1111/tmi.13874. Epub 2023 Apr 12.

Abstract

West Nile virus (WNV) has been documented in human and/or mosquito samples near the border with Mexico in El Paso, Texas, and Doña Ana County, New Mexico. However, on the Mexican side of the border, particularly in the State of Chihuahua, no such cases of WNV-infected mosquitoes have been documented. We tested 367 mosquitoes of four species (Culex quinquefasciatus, Cx. tarsalis, Aedes aegypti, and Aedes (Ochlerotatus) epactius) and found a high rate of WNV-positivity, including the first record of Ae. (Ochlerotatus) epactius infection with WNV. These results call for intensifying WNV surveillance efforts on the border between the United States and Mexico, with particular emphasis on vector control and monitoring of the species included in this study.

Keywords: Aedes (Ochlerotatus) epactius; West Nile virus; flavivirus; mosquito; vector-borne-disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aedes*
  • Animals
  • Arboviruses*
  • Culex*
  • Humans
  • Mexico / epidemiology
  • Mosquito Vectors
  • West Nile Fever* / epidemiology
  • West Nile virus*