ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2023
Belgian Culex pipiens pipiens are competent vectors for West Nile virus while Culex modestus are competent vectors for Usutu virus.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of mosquito transmission of equine hepacivirus in laboratory and field studies.Journal of medical entomology · 2026Article
- Population-level variation shapes West Nile virus transmission potential in the Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Pathogen diversity in mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from the Republic of Kosovo: a two-year cross-sectional study.New microbes and new infections · 2026Article
- Diagnosis and Surveillance of West Nile Virus Infection in Horses: Current Methods, Challenges, and Future Directions.Veterinary sciences · 2026Review
- North American Culex pipiens mosquitoes are competent for Usutu virus transmission.Npj viruses · 2026Article
- Progress in research on mosquito-borne viruses: Understanding infection, transmission, and control.Infectious diseases & immunity · 2026Review
- Field-Collected Belgian Culex pipiens and Culex torrentium Mosquitoes are Competent for West Nile Virus Under Different Temperature Conditions.Transboundary and emerging diseases · 2026Article
- Evidence of much wider distribution of the potential West Nile virus vector, Culex modestus, in the UK.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- Host-feeding preferences of Culex pipiens and its potential significance for flavivirus transmission in the Camargue, France.Medical and veterinary entomology · 2025Article
- A central role for CCR2 in monocyte recruitment and blood-brain barrier disruption during Usutu virus encephalitis.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Article
- Laboratory evidence on the vector competence of European field-captured Culex theileri for circulating West Nile virus lineages 1 and 2.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- UK mosquitoes are competent to transmit Usutu virus at native temperatures.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2024Article
- Larval Competition betweenViruses · 2024Article
- Review
- Is Culex modestus a New Usutu virus vector?Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Mosquitoes in urban green spaces and cemeteries in northern Spain.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Culex modestus: the overlooked mosquito vector.Parasites & vectors · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWest Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) are emerging arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) in Europe transmitted by Culex mosquitoes. In Belgium, it is currently unknown which Culex species are competent vectors for WNV or USUV and if these mosquitoes carry Wolbachia, an endosymbiotic bacterium that can block arbovirus transmission. The aims of our study were to measure the vector competence of Belgian Culex mosquitoes to WNV and USUV and determine if a naturally acquired Wolbachia infection can influence virus transmission. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsFemale Culex mosquitoes were captured from urban and peri-urban sites in Leuven, Belgium and offered an infectious bloodmeal containing WNV lineage 2, USUV European (EU) lineage 3, or USUV African (AF) lineage 3. Blood-fed females were incubated for 14 days at 25°C after which the body, head, and saliva were collected to measure infection, dissemination, and transmission rates as well as transmission efficiency. Mosquito species were identified by qRT-PCR or Sanger sequencing, the presence of infectious virus in mosquitoes was confirmed by plaque assays, and viral genome copies were quantified by qRT-PCR. Culex pipiens pipiens were able to transmit WNV (4.3% transmission efficiency, n = 2/47) but not USUV (EU lineage: n = 0/56; AF lineage: n = 0/37). In contrast, Culex modestus were able to transmit USUV (AF lineage: 20% transmission efficiency, n = 1/5) but not WNV (n = 0/6). We found that the presence or absence of Wolbachia was species-dependent and did not associate with virus transmission. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first report that Belgian Culex mosquitoes can transmit both WNV and USUV, forewarning the risk of human transmission. More research is needed to understand the potential influence of Wolbachia on arbovirus transmission in Culex modestus mosquitoes.
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