Isolation and Identification of Sandfly-Borne Viruses from Sandflies Collected from June to August, 2019, in Yangquan County, China

Abstract

In Yangquan County, the sandfly-transmitted virus (Wuxiang virus) was first isolated from sandflies in 2018. However, relationships between the abundance and seasonal fluctuations of local sandflies and sandfly-transmitted viruses are unknown. Herein, we report that sandfly specimens were collected in three villages in Yangquan County, from June to August, 2019. A total of 8363 sandflies were collected (June, 7927; July, 428; August, 8). Eighteen virus strains (June, 18; July, 0; August, 0) were isolated in pools of Phlebotomus chinensis. The genome sequence of the newly isolated virus strain was highly similar to that of the Wuxiang virus (WUXV), isolated from sandflies in Yangquan County in 2018. Our results suggested that the sandfly-transmitted viruses, and the local sandfly population, are stable in Yangquan County, and that June is the peak period for the virus carried by sandflies in this area.