HOSTS OF LUTZOMYIA-SHANNONI (DIPTERA, PSYCHODIDAE) IN RELATION TO VESICULAR STOMATITIS-VIRUS ON OSSABAW ISLAND, GEORGIA, USA

Hosts of Lutzomyia shannoni Dyar, a suspected biological vector of the New Jersey serotype of vesicular stomatitis (VSNJ) virus, were determ ined using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of 33 3 blood-fed female sandflies collected from their diurnal resting shel ters on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, U.S.A. Sandflies had fed primarily on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (81%) and to a lesser exte nt on feral swine (Sus scrofa) (16%), two species of host infected ann ually with VSNJ. Other hosts were raccoons (Procyon lotor) and horses (Equus caballus) or donkeys (E. asinus), with only two (<1%) mixed blo odmeals from deer/raccoon and deer/swine. A larger proportion of feedi ngs on feral swine was detected in maritime live oak forests than in m ixed hardwood forests. These findings are consistent with the hypothes is that L. shannoni is a primary vector of VSNJ virus on Ossabaw Islan d.