First detection of Madariaga virus in mosquitoes collected in a wild environment of northeastern Argentina

Abstract

Madariaga virus (MADV), previously known as South American eastern equine encephalitis virus (SA EEEV, family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus), is a mosquito-borne virus associated mainly with equine disease. In 2010, the first human outbreak by MADV was reported in Central America but the mosquito vectors and vertebrate hosts involved in the outbreak were not identified. In Argentina, the first epizootic by MADV was in 1930, and, since then, several epizootics by MADV have been reported. However, the potential vectors and hosts involved in the transmission cycle remain unknown. In the present study, MADV was detected in Culex (Culex) spp. mosquitoes and the phylogenetic analysis showed that the MADV fragment amplified grouped with the lineage/subtype III of the SA EEEV complex. Our results provide information about the natural infection with MADV in mosquitoes collected in a wild environment of Argentina and its genetic relatedness.