MOSQUITO VIRUS
Possible Cause Of Disease
A virus isolated from mosquitoes at Whataroa, Westland. is being investigated for its significance in human and animal disease, says the annual report of the New Zealand Medical Research Council. The work is being done by the Virus Research Unit of the Otago Medical School under Professor J. A. R. Miles.
“Serological evidence suggests it (the virus) is widely spread throughout New Zealand and certainly infects man, horse, and domestic fowls, but we have so far no evidence on whether it is really responsible for disease in those who have been infected with it,” says the report.
“The virus belongs to Group A of the arthropodborne viruses and appears to fall into the subgroup which includes western equine encephalomyelitis. ’ ’ Three strains of the virus have been isolated, the report adds. “One of the problems in this group of viruses is to understand how they survive in temperate climates during the months when mosquitoes are inactive. . . . “As well as these epidemiological studies, we are carrying out studies on the significance of the New Zealand sandflies as vectors (carriers) of anthropod-borne viruses. At present these studies are mainly confined to investigation of their efficiency as transmitters in the laboratory.”
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19621120.2.37
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CI, Issue 29984, 20 November 1962, Page 6
Word Count
203MOSQUITO VIRUS Press, Volume CI, Issue 29984, 20 November 1962, Page 6
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