Meeting Abstract
Arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) emergence and re-emergence has rapidly increased in recent years, causing a rise in arboviral-related mortalities and morbidities. Members of the Cimicidae family, such as human bed bugs (Cimex lectularius & Cimex hemipterus), typically do not transmit human viruses. However, cimicids are known to be alphavirus vectors in other mammalian hosts, implying they could be capable vectors for human viruses. Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is a unique arbovirus transmitted by swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarious), a cimicid ectoparasite, to cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota). Swallow bugs exist within cliff swallow nests year-round while cliff swallows are only present in the Midwest US during early summer to breed and raise young. This creates a large window of minimal blood meals for the bugs and no host for BCRV. While cytopathic viral levels correlated with this stagnant period, viral RNA levels remain relatively unchanged year-round, showing abnormal viral persistence. Monthly characterization of swallow bug and BCRV dynamics is needed for better understanding of this viral persistence in a non-typical insect vector. Samples of swallow bugs were collected monthly from five sites across southwest Iowa and southeast Nebraska. After sorting swallow bugs by age in each sample, the bugs were homogenized, and the homogenate extracted through a 0.22-micron filter. This filtrate was used to characterize the viral population found within the swallow bugs from this time point. Characterization of BCRV included infectious viral titer, cell toxicity and apoptotic activity due to BCRV, and viral RNA quantification and qualification. Results show BCRV virulence spikes and adult swallow bug populations plummet when the host is present, indicating a dynamic time within this system.
