The enveloped flavivirus Israel turkey meningoencephalitis virus (ITV) causes a neuroparalytic disease in adult turkeys leading to morbidity and mortality. This study reevaluates the role of blood-sucking insects in the transmission of ITV. We demonstrate the crucial importance of two factors in detecting viruses carried by blood-sucking insects: first, enhanced molecular detection of ITV in insects by nested qRT-PCR and second, collection and maintenance of live insects until their molecular examination. These upgrades allowed overcoming the small virus quantities contained in the insects and detecting ITV for the first time in field-collected Culex pipiens.

包膜黄病毒以色列火鸡脑膜脑炎病毒(ITV) 在成年火鸡中引起神经麻痹，导致发病率和死亡率。本研究重新评估吸血昆虫在 ITV 传播中的作用。我们证明了两个因素在检测吸血昆虫携带的病毒方面的至关重要性：首先，通过嵌套 qRT-PCR 增强昆虫中 ITV 的分子检测，其次，活昆虫的收集和维护直到它们的分子检测。这些升级克服了昆虫中含有的少量病毒，并首次在野外采集的库蚊中检测到 ITV 。