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Abstract
AIM: To determine if cattle exposed to the southern saltmarsh mosquito (SSM), Aedes camptorhynchus, in the Thames-Coromandel district of New Zealand had been exposed to Ross River virus (RRV).
METHODS: A purposive sampling design was used to test cattle from seven farms located in close proximity to four sites infested with A. camptorhynchus in the Thames-Coromandel district. Sera from 207 cattle were tested for antibodies to RRV, using an ELISA and confi rmatory virus neutralisation test (VNT) as the gold standard.
RESULTS: All 207 cattle tested negative for antibodies to RRV using the ELISA and VNT.
CONCLUSIONS: This study found no evidence of exposure to RRV in cattle in locations in the Thames-Coromandel district of New Zealand where populations of SSM were present.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the seven farmers in the Thames-Coromandel district who supported the project by providing livestock for sampling, and together with Kent Stove (AsureQuality Ltd, New Zealand) assisted during sample collection; Matthew Stone, who provided comments on the manuscript; and Mark Disbury and Rachael Cane from New Zealand BioSecure, who provided details of the SSM surveillance programme.
Notes
1 R Cane, New Zealand BioSecure Entomology Laboratory, Lower Hutt, New Zealand