DETECTION OF CALIFORNIA SEROGROUP BUNYAVIRUSES IN TISSUE-CULTURE AND MOSQUITO POOLS BY PCR

A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) protocol wa s developed for rapid detection of 14 California serogroup viruses usi ng universal primer pairs. These primers are specific for the small RN A (S RNA) and middle RNA (M RNA) segments. The method has been employe d to detect Jamestown Canyon (JC) virus in naturally infected mosquito es. With this technique, it is possible to detect virus in an amount o f material equivalent to as little as 0.03 mosquito.