Isolation of viruses from female Culex tritaeniorhynchus in Aedes albopictus cell cultures.

Isolation of viruses from female Culex tritaeniorhynchus was performed by inoculation of specimens into Aedes albopictus clone C6/36 cells as well as into suckling mouse brains (SMB). Altogether, 32,812 mosquitoes in 349 pools were processed from the specimens collected in Osaka Prefecture during the summer of 1978. Thirty-nine strains of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) were isolated in C6/36 cells in contrast to 27 strains in SMB. Twenty-four pools yielded JEV both in cell cultures and in SMB, 10 yielded JEV only in cell cultures, and three only in SMB. Two strains of Getah (GET) virus were isolated in cell cultures but not in SMB. Two of the 23 plaque isolates of a GET strain showed significantly lower titers of plaque formation on BHK21 cells or SMB-LD50, compared with the titer of plaque formation on C6/36 cells at 28 degree C. In addition, many unidentified filterable agents were detected by plaque formation on C6/36 cells.