A comparison of West Nile virus transmission by Ochlerotatus trivittatus (COQ.), Culex pipiens (L.), and Aedes albopictus (Skuse)

Transmission of West Nile virus (WNV) by Ochlerotatus trivittatus, Culex pipiens, and Aedes albopictus were compared 14 days after taking blood meals from viremic chickens with titers ranging from 10^2.5 to 10^9.5 cell infective dose ₅₀s (CID₅₀s)/mL serum. Transmission occurred in one of four (25%) Oc. trivittatus and one of 25 (4%) Cx. pipiens that fed on chickens with titers of 10^5.5 CID₅₀s/mL. No transmission occurred among two of 16 (13%) Oc. trivittatus or one of 25 (4%) Cx. pipiens that became infected after blood meals with titers of 10^5.0 and 10^4.5 CID₅₀s/mL, the next lowest blood meal titers evaluated. Seventeen of 28 (61%) Ae. albopictus transmitted WNV after blood meals with titers of 10^7.0 CID₅₀s/mL, but no infection or transmission was observed among 21 Ae. albopictus that fed on chickens with titers of 10^5.0 CID₅₀s/mL, the next lowest titer evaluated. Transmission by all three species increased dramatically after blood meals with WNV titers of ≥10^5.5 CID_50s/mL. No significant differences occurred in dissemination and transmission rates of the three species after taking blood meals with titers of >10^7.0 CID₅₀s/mL. The cumulative mean ± SE transmission rates of Oc. trivittatus, Cx. pipiens, and Ae. albopictus after blood meals with titers of ≥10^7.0 CID_50s/mL were 45.5 ± 4.1%, 46.8 ± 4.5%, and 72.4 ± 5.5%. The cumulative mean dissemination rates of the three species were 78.3 ± 6.7%, 74.8 ± 2.6%, and 88.6 ± 2.1%. The rates of transmission by the three species that developed disseminated infections after blood meals with titers of ≥10^7.0 CID_50s/mL were 58.8 ± 4.4%, 62.6 ± 5.8%, and 81.6 ± 5.4%, respectively. In a previous study, we found that susceptibility of the three species to WNV was essentially the same when fed on chickens with WNV titers of >10^7.0 CID₅₀s/mL, but Oc. trivittatus and Cx. pipiens were more susceptible than Ae. albopictus to WNV at lower virus titers. The current study strongly suggests that Ae. albopictus is a more efficient vector than Oc. trivittatus and Cx. pipiens when fed blood meals with titers of >10^7.0 CID₅₀s/mL. However, Oc. trivittatus and Cx. pipiens might be more efficient as vectors when infected by blood meals with titers of <10^7.0 CID₅₀s/mL.