Molecular survey for mosquito-transmitted viruses: detection of Tensaw virus in north central Florida mosquito populations.

A bunyavirus surveillance was performed in 2,600 pools consisting of 45,728 mosquitoes collected in north-central Florida from May 2006 to April 2007. Fifteen mosquito pools were found to be virus-positive from the total 2,600 mosquito pools tested (0.6% infection rate), which resulted in a minimum infection rate of 0.

Tensaw virus genome sequence and its relation to other Bunyaviridae.

Tensaw virus (TSV) belongs to the genus Orthobunyavirus within the Bunyaviridae family. Although TSV does not cause hemorrhagic fever as some other members of its family, serological studies have shown that serum from Florida residents react against TSV indicating viral infection in humans. In this study, the three RNA genome segments of a TSV isolated from Anopheles crucians mosquitoes collected in North Central Florida in 2006 and a TSV isolate obtained from the CDC, Fort Collins, were sequenced and compared to other Bunyaviridae.