Susceptibility of Aedes albopictus to infection with eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus.

We examined susceptibility of a strain of Aedes albopictus from Houston, Texas to experimental infection with eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus. After 15 days of extrinsic incubation, all Ae. albopictus examined by the cell culture assay and fluorescent antibody staining were infected but only 57% (4/7) of the mosquitoes that refed transmitted virus by bite. Data supported the concept of a salivary gland infection barrier to EEE virus in Ae. albopictus and the conclusion that virus replicates in fat body following dissemination from the midgut and prior to infection of salivary glands. Assay of adult progeny from females that fed on viremic chicks and fluorescent antibody studies of infected females failed to provide evidence that EEE virus is transmitted vertically by Ae. albopictus.