Detection of Insect-Specific Flaviviruses in Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Northeastern Regions of South Africa

Abstract excerpt

Mosquitoes in the Aedes and Culex genera are considered the main vectors of pathogenic flaviviruses worldwide. Entomological surveillance using universal flavivirus sets of primers in mosquitoes can detect not only pathogenic viruses but also insect-specific ones. It is hypothesized that insect-specific flaviviruses, which naturally infect these mosquitoes, may influence their vector competence for zoonotic...