Mechanical transmission of lumpy skin disease virus by <i>Aedes aegypti</i> (Diptera: Culicidae)

TLDR

Aedes aegypti female mosquitoes can mechanically transmit lumpy skin disease virus from infected to susceptible cattle. Mosquitoes that fed on lesions of LSDV‑infected cattle transmitted virus to susceptible cattle 2–6 days later, with virus isolated in 5 of 7 recipients and mild disease observed, providing the first unequivocal evidence that Aedes aegypti is a competent mechanical vector of lumpy skin disease virus.

Abstract

Aedes aegypti female mosquitoes are capable of the mechanical transmission of lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) from infected to susceptible cattle. Mosquitoes that had fed upon lesions of LSDV-infected cattle were able to transmit virus to susceptible cattle over a period of 2–6 days post-infective feeding. Virus was isolated from the recipient animals in 5 out of 7 cases. The clinical disease recorded in the animals exposed to infected mosquitoes was generally of a mild nature, with only one case being moderate. LSDV has long been suspected to be insect transmitted, but these findings are the first to demonstrate this unequivocally, and they suggest that mosquito species are competent vectors.