ABSTRACT
AbstractThe utility of applying infected Aedes aegypti to Flinders Technology Associates (FTA®) cards for storage, transport, and detection of dengue, Zika, and Barmah Forest viruses was assessed in laboratory-based experiments. The mosquitoes had been removed from Gravid Aedes Traps maintained under conditions of high temperature and humidity. RNA of all viruses could be detected in infected mosquitoes on FTA cards either individually or in pools with uninfected mosquitoes, and stored for up to 28 days. Importantly, there was only a minimal decrease in RNA levels in mosquitoes between days 0 and 28, indicating that viral RNA was relatively stable on the cards. FTA cards thus provide a mechanism for storing potentially infected mosquitoes collected in the field and transporting them to a central diagnostic facility for virus detection.
Subject(s)
Aedes/virology , Alphavirus/isolation & purification , Arboviruses/isolation & purification , Dengue Virus/isolation & purification , RNA, Viral/isolation & purification , Reagent Strips , Zika Virus/isolation & purification , Alphavirus/genetics , Animals , Arboviruses/classification , Arboviruses/genetics , Dengue Virus/genetics , Mosquito Control , RNA Stability , Reproducibility of Results , Specimen Handling/standards , Zika Virus/geneticsABSTRACT
Campylobacter infection is the most frequently reported notifiable food-borne disease in humans in Australia. Our studies investigated the persistence of Campylobacter spp. in or on darkling beetles (Alphitobius diaperinus) and their larvae. Our results in analyses with chickens confirm that, unless very short turnaround times are used (<72 h), beetles colonized in one production cycle (i.e., one batch of chickens) are most unlikely to still be colonized during the next cycle of chickens.
