First Detection of Madariaga virus in Mosquitoes Collected in a Wild Environment of Northeastern Argentina

STECHINA, ORNELA SOFIA; ORIA, GRISELDA INÉS; TORRES, CAROLINA; DIAZ, LUIS ADRIÁN; CONTIGIANI, MARTA; STEIN, MARINA

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE

AMER SOC TROP MED & HYGIENE

Año: 2019 vol. 101 p. 916 - 918

0002-9637

Madariaga virus (family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus) is a mosquito-borne virus associated mainly with equine disease. Nevertheless, in 2010 the first human outbreak by MADV was reported in Central America and the mosquitoes vectors and vertebrate hosts involved in the outbreak could not be identified. In Argentina, the first epizootic by MADV was in 1930. Since then, several epizootics by MADV have been reported, but the potential vectors and hosts involved in the transmission cycle remain undisclosed until today. In the present study, g was detected in mosquitoes Culex (Culex) spp. and the phylogenetic analysis showed that the strain MADV obtained in this study, grouped the lineage/subtype III of SA EEEV complex. Our results provide, for the first time, information about natural infection with MADV in mosquitoes collected in a wild environment in the country.