For the first time this summer, mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus have been found in Boston, public health authorities reported today. To reduce growth of mosquitoes homeowners recommended to do these actions, draining flower pots, wading pools, and gutters.
West Nile virus (WNV) is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. Part of the Japanese encephalitis (JE) antigenic complex of viruses, it is found in both tropical and temperate regions.
It mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, and domestic rabbits. The main route of human infection is through the bite of an infected mosquito. Approximately 90% of West Nile Virus infections in humans are without any symptoms.
Aedes albopictus mosquito
Image reconstructions and cryoelectron microscopy reveal a 45–50 nm virion covered with a relatively smooth protein surface. This structure is similar to the dengue fever virus; both belong to the genus Flavivirus within the family Flaviviridae. The genetic material of WNV is a positive-sense, single strand of RNA, which is between 11,000 and 12,000 nucleotides long; these genes encode seven non-structural proteins and three structural proteins. The RNA strand is held within a nucleocapsid formed from 12 kDa protein blocks; the capsid is contained within a host-derived membrane altered by two viral glycoproteins.
Vector: Under experimental conditions, the Aedes albopictus mosquito (also known as the Asian Tiger Mosquito) has been found to be a vector of West Nile Virus.
References
-http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog/2010/08/west_nile-infec.html
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_nile_virus
