Vector competence of Culex tarsalis from Orange County, California, for West Nile virus

To evaluate the vector competence of Culex tarsalis Coquillett for West Nile virus (WN), females reared from larvae collected in Huntington Beach, Orange County, CA, were fed on 2-3-day-old chickens previously inoculated with a New York strain (Crow 397-99) of WN. The Cx. tarsalis mosquitoes were efficient laboratory vectors of WN, with estimated transmission rates of 81% and 91% for mosquitoes that ingested 10(6.5) or 10(7.3) plaque-forming units of WN/mL of blood, respectively. Based on efficiency of viral transmission and the role of this species in the transmission of the closely related St. Louis encephalitis virus, Cx. tarsalis should be considered a potentially important vector of WN in the western United States.