Isolation of Northway serotype and other Bunyamwera serogroup bunyaviruses from California and Oregon mosquitoes, 1969-1985.

Eight previously untyped Bunyamwera serogroup bunyaviruses that had been isolated from mosquitoes collected in California and Oregon between 1969 and 1985, were identified by cross-neutralization tests. Four viruses from Anopheles freeborni and a virus from Aedes sierrensis collected in Butte County in the Central Valley of California in 1970-71 were shown to belong to the Northway serotype. The existence of a Northway serotype virus in California had been inferred from previous serologic surveys of deer and horses, but these are the first Northway serotype viruses to be identified from the contiguous United States or from An. freeborni. This is also the first isolation of any virus from Ae. sierrensis. Two viruses from Culiseta inornata collected in Umatilla County, Oregon in 1969 may represent a new serotype in the Bunyamwera serocomplex of the Bunyamwera serogroup. The name "Stanfield" is proposed for this serotype, which is closely related to the Cache Valley and Northway bunyavirus serotypes. A virus from Ae. taeniorhynchus collected in San Diego County, California in 1985 was confirmed to belong to the Main Drain serotype. Previously, Main Drain serotype viruses in California have been associated principally with Culicoides variipennis.