First Isolation and Genome Sequence Analysis of West Nile Virus in Mosquitoes in Brazil
Joaquim Pinto Nunes Neto, Lúcia Aline Moura Reis, Maria Nazaré Oliveira Freitas, Bruna Laís Sena do Nascimento, Liliane Leal das Chagas, Hernan Hermes Monteiro da Costa, Jéssica Cecília Pinheiro Rodrigues, Camila Margalho Braga, Eliana Vieira Pinto da Silva, Sandro Patroca da Silva, Lívia Carício Martins
Abstract
. In Brazil, serological studies have already indicated the circulation of the virus since 2003, with the first human case detected in 2014. The objective of the present paper is to report the first isolation of WNV in a Culex (Melanoconion) mosquito. Arthropods were collected by protected human attraction and CDC light bait, and taxonomically identified and analyzed by viral isolation, complement fixation and genomic sequencing tests. WNV was isolated from samples of Culex (Melanoconion) mosquitoes, and the sequencing analysis demonstrated that the isolated strain belonged to lineage 1a. The finding of the present study presents the first evidence of the isolation and genome sequencing of WNV in arthropods in Brazil.