Identical Viral Genetic Sequence Found in Black Flies (<i>Simulium</i> <i>bivittatum</i>) and the Equine Index Case of the 2006 U.S. Vesicular Stomatitis Outbreak
Barbara S. Drolet,
Will K. Reeves,
Kristine E. Bennett,
Steven J. Pauszek,
Miranda R. Bertram,
Luis L. Rodriguez
Affiliations
Barbara S. Drolet
Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit, Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, Agricultural Research Service, Unites States Department of Agriculture, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA
Will K. Reeves
Biological Regulatory Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA
Kristine E. Bennett
Energy Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Steven J. Pauszek
Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Orient Point, NY 11957, USA
Miranda R. Bertram
Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, Unites States Department of Agriculture, Orient Point, NY 11957, USA
Luis L. Rodriguez
Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, Unites States Department of Agriculture, Orient Point, NY 11957, USA
In 2006, vesicular stomatitis New Jersey virus (VSNJV) caused outbreaks in Wyoming (WY) horses and cattle after overwintering in 2004 and 2005. Within two weeks of the outbreak onset, 12,203 biting flies and 194 grasshoppers were collected near three equine-positive premises in Natrona County, WY. Insects were identified to the species level and tested by RT-qPCR for VSNJV polymerase (L) and phosphoprotein (P) gene RNA. Collected dipterans known to be competent for VSV transmission included Simulium black flies and Culicoides biting midges. VSNJV L and P RNA was detected in two pools of female Simulium bivittatum and subjected to partial genome sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis based on the hypervariable region of the P gene from black flies showed 100% identity to the isolate obtained from the index horse case on the same premises. This is the first report of VSNJV in S. bivittatum in WY and the first field evidence of possible VSV maintenance in black fly populations during an outbreak.
