Host Associations of Culex pipiens : A Two-Year Analysis of Bloodmeal Sources and Implications for Arboviral Transmission in Southeastern Virginia

• Published in: Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.) Vol. 21; no. 12; p. 961
• Main Authors: Khalil, Noelle, Little, Eliza A H, Akaratovic, Karen I, Kiser, Jay P, Abadam, Charles F, Yuan, Karen J, Misencik, Michael J, Armstrong, Philip M, Molaei, Goudarz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-12-2021
• Subjects: Animals; Arboviruses; Cat Diseases; Cats; Culex; Feeding Behavior; Horse Diseases; Horses; Mosquito Vectors; Passeriformes; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Virginia - epidemiology; West Nile Fever - epidemiology; West Nile Fever - veterinary; West Nile virus; Virginia; Culex pipiens; vector; Virginia; West Nile virus; bloodmeal analysis
• ISSN: 1557-7759
• DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2021.0069

Understanding vector-host interactions is crucial for evaluating the role of mosquito species in enzootic cycling and epidemic/epizootic transmission of arboviruses, as well as assessing vertebrate host contributions to maintenance and amplification in different virus foci. To investigate blood-feeding pattern of
, engorged mosquitoes were collected on a weekly basis at 50 sites throughout Suffolk, Virginia, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention miniature light traps, BG-Sentinel traps, and modified Reiter gravid traps. Vertebrate hosts of mosquitoes were identified by amplifying and sequencing portions of the mitochondrial
gene. Of 281
bloodmeals successfully identified to species, 255 (90.7%) contained solely avian blood, 13 (4.6%) mammalian, 1 (0.4%) reptilian, and 12 (4.3%) both avian and mammalian blood. Nineteen avian species were identified as hosts for
with American robin (
 = 141, 55.3% of avian hosts) and northern cardinal (
 = 57, 22.4%) as the most common hosts. More American robin feedings took place in areas of higher development. Three mammalian species were also identified as hosts for
with Virginia opossum and domestic cat as the most common hosts in this class (each
 = 6, 46.2% of mammalian hosts). There was no significant seasonal difference in the proportion of bloodmeals obtained from avian hosts, but there was a decrease in the proportion of bloodmeals from mammalian hosts from spring to fall. One engorged specimen of
with Virginia opossum-derived bloodmeal tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV), and another with black-and-white warbler-derived bloodmeal tested positive for eastern equine encephalitis virus. Our findings, in conjunction with the results of vector competence studies and virus isolation from field-collected mosquitoes, lend additional support that
serves as the principal enzootic vector and potential epizootic/epidemic vector of WNV in southeastern Virginia.