Mosquitoes are unlikely to contribute substantially to FV3 disease dynamics
Ranaviruses are worldwide pathogens of fish, amphibians, and reptiles that can threaten herptile conservation efforts.
Frog virus 3 (FV3) is the predominant ranavirus in eastern North America affecting reptiles. While this disease can spread through water and scavenging behaviour, mosquitoes are proposed as another mechanism for transmission.
Mosquitoes were sampled at four sites in Illinois with eastern box turtles during nonoutbreak and outbreak conditions. No mosquito was detected with FV3 DNA at any of the four sites.
Further vector viability studies will be valuable in establishing the potential for mosquitoes to act as a vector for FV3 transmission.
Read the paper — Lack of molecular detection of frog virus 3-like ranavirus (FV3) in mosquitoes during natural outbreak and nonoutbreak conditions by Nicole A. Lopez Vargas, Laura Adamovicz, Brittany Willeford, Brian F. Allan, and Matthew C. Allender.
