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ZIKA virus isolated from mosquitoes: a field and laboratory investigation in China, 2016

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Abstract

A field investigation of arboviruses was conducted in Dejiang, Guizhou Province in the summer of 2016. A total of 8,795 mosquitoes, belonging to four species of three genera, and 1,300 midges were collected. The mosquito samples were identified on site according to their morphology, and the pooled samples were ground and centrifuged in the laboratory. The supernatant was incubated with mosquito tissue culture cells (C6/36) and mammalian cells (BHK-21) for virus isolation. The results indicated that 40% (3,540/8,795) were Anopheles sinensis, 30% (2,700/8,795) were Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus, and 29% (2,530/8,795) were Armigeres subbalbeatus. Furthermore, a total of eight virus isolates were obtained, and genome sequencing revealed two Zika viruses (ZIKVs) isolated from Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus and Armigeres subbalbeatus, respectively; three Japanese encephalitis viruses (JEVs) isolated from Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus; two Banna viruses (BAVs) isolated from Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus and Anopheles sinensis, respectively; and one densovirus (DNV) isolated from Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus. The ZIKVs isolated from the Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus and Armigeres subbalbeatus mosquitoes represent the first ZIKV isolates in mainland China. This discovery presents new challenges for the prevention and control of ZIKV in China, and prompts international cooperation on this global issue.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the help provided by the staff of Dejiang County CDC during the collection of mosquito samples. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81290342, 81501757), the Special National Project on Research and Development of Key Biosafety Technologies (2016YFC1201904), the National Key Plan for Scientific Research and Development of China (2016YFD0500300), the Development Grants of State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (2014SKLID103, 2015SKLID505), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC1200202) and the Open Research Fund Program of Wuhan National Bio-Safety Level 4 Lab of CAS (2017SPCAS003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China

    Shihong Fu, Song Song, Yuanyuan Li, Xiaolong Li, Xiaoyan Gao, Ziqian Xu, Ying He, Wenwen Lei, Huanyu Wang & Guodong Liang

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Shihong Fu, Song Song, Yuanyuan Li, Xiaolong Li, Xiaoyan Gao, Ziqian Xu, Ying He, Wenwen Lei, Huanyu Wang & Guodong Liang

  3. Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Song Song, Bin Wang & Xiaoqing Lu

  4. Shandong Provincial Research Center for Bioinformatic Engineering and Technique, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, 255049, China

    Hong Liu

  5. National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, Ministry of Health, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Dieases, Shanghai, 200025, China

    Yuanyuan Li

  6. Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Shenyang Command, Shenyang, 110034, China

    Guoping Liu

  7. Guizhou Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guiyang, 550004, China

    Dingming Wang, Zhenzao Tian & Jingzhu Zhou

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  1. Shihong Fu
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Correspondence to Xiaoqing Lu or Guodong Liang.

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Fu, S., Song, S., Liu, H. et al. ZIKA virus isolated from mosquitoes: a field and laboratory investigation in China, 2016. Sci. China Life Sci. 60, 1364–1371 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-017-9196-8

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