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1 September 2008 Mosquito Vectors of West Nile Fever in Israel
L. Orshan, H. Bin, H. Schnur, A. Kaufman, A. Valinsky, L. Shulman, L. Weiss, E. Mendelson, H. Pener
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Abstract

West Nile fever (WNF) is endemic in Israel. In 1999, country-wide adult mosquito surveys were initiated and intensified after the 2000 country-wide outbreak of WNF in humans. In 8 consecutive yr, groups of male and female specimens of different species and from different locations were tested for infection with West Nile virus (WNV). Three species made up >87% of the total catch: Culex pipiens L. (52%), with an infection rate (IR) of 0.5; Cx. perexiguus Theobald (20%), with an IR of 2.7; and Aedes caspius Pallas (15%), with an IR of 0.6. The geographical and temporal distribution of WNV-infected mosquitoes was similar but was not parallel to the seasonal abundance of the populations. The seasonal occurrence of human cases is in correlation with the finding of WNV-positive mosquito specimens reaching a peak 1 mo later than the mosquito peak. The relative importance of the mosquito species in the epidemiology of WNF is discussed. Cx. perexiguus is considered the major vector of WNF in Israel.

L. Orshan, H. Bin, H. Schnur, A. Kaufman, A. Valinsky, L. Shulman, L. Weiss, E. Mendelson, and H. Pener "Mosquito Vectors of West Nile Fever in Israel," Journal of Medical Entomology 45(5), 939-947, (1 September 2008). https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585(2008)45[939:MVOWNF]2.0.CO;2
Received: 16 October 2007; Accepted: 29 April 2008; Published: 1 September 2008
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KEYWORDS
Culex perexiguus
Culex pipiens
Israel
mosquitoes
West Nile
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