Experimental demonstration of hepatitis C virus [HCV] in an Egyptian strain of Culex pipiens complex

ABSTRACT

Reverse transcriptase [RT] polymerase chain reaction [PCR] was used to detect hepatitis C virus [HCV] RNA among heads, guts, larvae and eggs of Culex pipiens complex. The mosquitos were trapped from homes of hepatitis C patients or among the same organs of symbiotic [normal gut bacteria] and aposymbiotic [without gut bacteria] mosquitos fed HCV positive blood by an artificial membrane feeder. The eggs and larvae resulted from symbiotic females fed HCV positive blood were tested for HCV-RNA. Hepatitis C virus RNA was detected only in the heads of symbiotic mosquitos collected from homes of HCV positive patients at 3 and 6 hours after feeding. The virus was detected at 3 and 8 days after being fed on HCV-RNA positive blood in guts of the same group. The virus was not detected in the eggs or larvae resulted from female mosquitos fed on HCV-RNA positive blood