ScienceDaily (Apr. 29, 2005) — A small, hardy fly called a biting midge may play an important role in spreading vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), which infects cattle, horses and swine, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) microbiologist Barbara Drolet.

VSV causes significant economic losses to the livestock industry from sickened animals, quarantines and subsequent export/import restrictions.

Drolet, at the ARS Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Laboratory in Laramie, Wyo., and colleagues now have proof that VSV is capable of surviving and spreading throughout the blood-sucking midge, Culicoides sonorensis. To verify that Culicoides propagated VSV, the scientists had to find a way to show, without killing the midge, that virus ingested in a blood meal could survive the insect's midgut, then replicate and escape from the midgut to infect other organs.

Using an artificial feeding system, Drolet fed midges a viral meal and tracked the ensuing infections over time to show that VSV infects the midge's salivary glands and eggs and is shed in the midge's droppings. Drolet used a genetic technique to verify that the virus is able to replicate within the insect.

Artist's rendering of a biting midge (about 2mm long). The biting midge already is known to transmit several viruses among livestock and wildlife. (Image courtesy of USDA/Agricultural Research Service)

Related Stories

Grasshoppers Can Transmit Virus To Livestock (Sep. 1, 2009) — Rangeland plants may be harboring a virus that grasshoppers are transmitting to cattle, horses and other hoofed mammals, according to a new ...  > read more

Climate Change Fears For Deadly Virus Outbreaks In Livestock (Apr. 2, 2009) — Global warming could have chilling consequences for European livestock, warned an expert. Since 1998, rising temperatures have led to outbreaks of bluetongue across most of Europe, which have killed ...  > read more

Midge-hunting Scientists Tackle Spread Of Devastating Bluetongue Virus (Aug. 14, 2008) — Scientists are stepping up the battle against the devastating and economically damaging bluetongue virus. By combining ingenious ways to trap and monitor midges with cutting edge computer modeling ...  > read more

Scientists Learn More About How Viruses Reproduce, Spread (Apr. 9, 2006) — Biochemists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have made a surprising discovery about the inner workings of a powerful virus -- a discovery that they hope could one day lead to better ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

Detecting Disease In Less Than 60 Seconds