Short report: lack of virus replication in arthropods after intrathoracic inoculation of Ebola Reston virus.

To evaluate the potential for arthropods to serve as reservoir hosts of Ebola virus, three mosquito species, Aedes albopictus, Aedes taeniorhynchus, and Culex pipiens, and a soft tick, Ornithodoros sonrai, were inoculated with 1O2.5 plaque-forming units of Ebola Reston virus. After incubation at 22 degrees C for 11 days, at least six specimens of each species were triturated and examined for evidence of viral replication by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and plaque assay. There was no evidence of viral replication in any of the arthropods tested. Because intrathoracic inoculation bypasses various barriers to viral infection, the lack of replication of Ebola Reston virus in these inoculated arthropods indicates that these mosquito species and soft ticks probably are not involved as natural reservoirs of Ebola virus.