La Crosse Virus in Mosquitoes, Texas | CDC EID

EID Journal Home > Volume 16, Number 5–May 2010

Volume 16, Number 5–May 2010
Dispatch
La Crosse Virus in Aedes albopictus Mosquitoes, Texas, USA, 2009
Amy J. Lambert, Carol D. Blair, Mary D'Anton, Winnann Ewing, Michelle Harborth, Robyn Seiferth, Jeannie Xiang, and Robert S. Lanciotti
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA (A.J. Lambert, R.S. Lanciotti); Colorado State University, Fort Collins (C.D. Blair); and Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, Texas, USA (M. D'Anton, W. Ewing, M. Harborth, R. Seiferth, J. Xiang)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
We report the arthropod-borne pediatric encephalitic agent La Crosse virus in Aedes albopictus mosquitoes collected in Dallas County, Texas, USA, in August 2009. The presence of this virus in an invasive vector species within a region that lies outside the virus's historically recognized geographic range is of public health concern.

La Crosse virus (LACV) is the most common cause of arthropod-borne, pediatric encephalitis in North America. A member of the California serogroup within the family Bunyaviridae and the genus Orthobunyavirus, LACV is enveloped and contains a negative-sense, tripartite genome with segments designated small (S), medium (M), and large (L). Cases of LACV-associated encephalitis, which can be fatal, occur within the geographic range of its principal vector, Aedes triseriatus mosquitoes. This native tree-hole breeding mosquito is distributed throughout wooded regions east of the Rocky Mountains within the United States. Historically, most LACV-associated encephalitis cases have occurred in upper midwestern states, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio (Figure 1). In recent years, LACV encephalitis activity has increased above endemic levels in regions of the southeastern United States, including West Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee (Figure 1) (1). In addition, recent cases of LACV encephalitis have been reported as far south as Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida (Figure 1).

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Suggested Citation for this Article
Lambert AJ, Blair CD, D'Anton M, Ewing W, Harborth M, Seiferth R, et al. La Crosse virus in Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, Texas, USA, 2009. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 May [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/5/856.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1605.100170