Isolation of Japanese encephalitis virus from mosquitoes by means of the plaque formation method with chick embryo fibroblast monolayers.

Abstract

Attempts to use the tissue culture method for primary isolations of arboviruses from mosquitoes have been made by several investigators (Welsh et al., 1958; Lennette et al., 1961; Scrivani & Reeves, 1962), indicating that the method may be satisfactory for the surveillance of mosquito infection with certain arboviruses. Porterfield et al. (1960) showed successful isolation of Rift Valley fever virus from mosquito suspensions by plaque formation in chick embryo fibroblast (CEF) monolayers. The CEF is well known to be susceptible also to Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) .In the present work, an attempt was made to apply the plaque formation method with CEF monolayers to the primary isolation of JEV from field-caught mosquitoes, and the isolation efficiency by this method was evaluated by a simultaneous inoculation into suckling mice.