Possible Transmission of Arboviruses in Mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) reared in the Insectarium

Abstract

Culex quinquefasciatus (formerly called Culex fatigans), commonly known as house mosquito and found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the life cycle period and presence of arboviruses in Culex quinquefasciatus reared in the Urban Pest Control Studies Unit (UPCSU), School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (SVMBS). Arbovirus (arthropod-borne virus) infection due to West Nile virus (WNV) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), is a pathogenic viral infection with serious clinical symptoms. Five pairs of Culex quinquefasciatus was reared to determine the period of mosquito development. The presence of arboviruses was detected using RT-PCR against eggs, 1st instar larvae to 4th instar larvae, female and male adult. Development of Culex quinquefasciatus show the life cycle of the mosquitoes ranging from 6 to 15 days and based on the RT-PCR method, the results showed that there were no viruses in all stages of mosquito, for both flavivirus and Banna virus. This finding suggested that the proper rearing of guinea pigs and mosquitoes is important to prevent the transmission of virus.

Culex quinquefasciatus (sebelumnya dikenali sebagai Culex fatigans), umumnya dikenal sebagai nyamuk rumah dan ditemukan di daerah tropis dan subtropis di dunia. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui periode siklus hidup dan keberadaan arbovirus pada Culex quinquefasciatus yang dipelihara di Unit Kajian Pengendalian Hama Permukiman (UKPHP), Sekolah Kedokteran Hewan dan Biomedis (SKHB). Infeksi arbovirus (arthropod-borne virus) akibat West Nile virus (WNV) dan Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), merupakan infeksi virus patogen dengan gejala klinis serius yang sangat mudah menyebar. Lima pasang Culex quinquefasciatus dipelihara untuk mengetahui masa perkembangan nyamuk. Keberadaan arbovirus dideteksi menggunakan RT-PCR terhadap telur, larva instar 1 hingga instar 4 serta betina dan jantan dewasa. Perkembangan Culex quinquefasciatus menunjukkan siklus hidup nyamuk berlangsung selama 6 hingga 15 hari dan berdasarkan RT-PCR metode, hasil penelitian menunjukkan tidak terdapat virus pada semua stadium nyamuk, baik flavivirus maupun Banna virus. Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa pemeliharaan marmot dan nyamuk yang tepat penting untuk mencegah penularan virus.