Transmission and in Vitro Excretion of Bluetongue Virus Serotype 1 by Inoculated Culicoides Brevitarsis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

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Abstract
Simple equipment for intrathoracic inoculation of biting midges and mosquitoes is described. The inoculating needle is fitted into a modified disposable syringe, which is connected to a small air pump. By alternately attaching the air line to the intake and exhaust ports of the pump, inoculum can be taken up or expelled with fingertip control. Insects on an entomological cold table are inoculated under a dissecting microscope. An in vitro technique using capillary tube feeding to demonstrate excretion of virus in biting midge saliva is also described. Culicoides brevitarsis midges inoculated with the CSIRO 156 strain of bluetongue virus serotype 1 and held for 13 days at 20 °C transmitted the virus to a sheep; this is the first experimental transmission of any arbovirus by C. brevitarsis. The infection rate of the midges was 100%. By using the capillary feeding technique with the inoculated midges that fed on the sheep, virus excretion rates of up to 53% were recorded. The capillary feeding technique with biting midges is an economical method of determining virus transmission rates without the use of laboratory animals.

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