Diversity and molecular characterization of insect-specific flaviviruses in mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) collected in central and northern Argentina.

ADRIÁN FARIAS; VICTORIA LABORDOLIVE; MARINA STEIN; MARÍA JULIA DANTUR JURI; ANDRÉS VISINTIN; ALMIRÓN WALTER R.; MARTA S. CONTIGIANI; VIVIANA RÉ; DIAZ LUIS ADRIAN

ANAIS DA ACADEMIA BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIAS.

ACAD BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIAS

Lugar: Rio de Janeiro; Año: 2024

0001-3765

The genus Flavivirus comprises approximately 80 different viruses.Phylogenetic relationships among its members indicate a clear ecological separationbetween those viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, with no known vector, andinsect-specific Flaviviruses. The diversity and phylogenetic relationships among insectspecific flaviviruses circulating in the central and northern regions of Argentina werestudied by performing molecular detection and characterization of the NS5 proteingene in mosquitoes collected in Córdoba, Chaco and Tucumán provinces. Overall, 68out of 1776 pools were positive. CxFV, KRV and CFAV circulate in the 3 studied provinces.Several mosquito species (Aedes aegypti, Culex bidens, Cx. dolosus, Cx. interfor, Cx.quinquefasciatus, Cx. saltanensis, Haemagogus spegazzini) were found infected. Awide circulation of CxFV was observed in the central-northern region of Argentina. CxFVstrains detected in our study clustered with strains circulating in Santa Fe and BuenosAires provinces (Argentina), and other countries such as Indonesia, Mexico, Uganda andTaiwan. The presence of these viruses in mosquitoes could play an important role fromthe public health perspective, because it has been shown that previous CxFV infectioncan increase or block the infection of the mosquito by other pathogenic flaviviruses.