ISOLATION OF JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS-VIRUS FROM MOSQUITOS COLLECTED IN SABAK-BERNAM, SELANGOR, MALAYSIA IN 1992

Detection and isolation of Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus were attem pted from female mosquitoes collected in Kampong Pasir Panjang, Sabak Bernam, Selangor, from May to November 1992. A total of 7,400 mosquito es consisting of 12 species in 148 pools were processed and inoculated into Aedes albopictus clone C6/36 cell cultures. Of these, 26 pools s howed the presence of viral antigens in the infected C6/36 cells by sp ecific immunoperoxidase staining using an anti-JE virus polyclonal ant ibody. Presence of JE virus genome was confirmed in the infected cultu re fluid for 16 pools by using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and JE virus-specific primers. Of these, 3 pools were from Cu lex tritaeniorhynchus, 4 from Culex vishnui, 3 from Culex bitaeniorhyn chus, 2 from Culex sitiens, one from Aedes species, and 3 from Culex s pecies. Isolation of JE virus from Cx. sitiens, Cx. bitaeniorhynchus, and Aedes sp. (Aedes butleri and Ae. albopictus) is reported for the f irst time in Malaysia.