Publications

a new species of mesonivirus from the northern territory, australia.	here we describe casuarina virus (casv), a new virus in the family mesoniviridae. this is the first report of a mesonivirus in australia, which extends the geographical range of this virus family to 3 continents. the virus was isolated in 2010 from coquillettidia xanthogaster mosquitoes during surveillance in the suburbs of darwin, the capital of the northern territory. cryo-electron microscopy of the casv virions revealed spherical particles of 65 nm in size with large club-shaped projections o ...	2014	24670468
epidemiologic patterns of ross river virus disease in queensland, australia, 2001-2011.	ross river virus (rrv) infection is a debilitating disease that has a significant impact on population health, economic productivity, and tourism in australia. this study examined epidemiologic patterns of rrv disease in queensland, australia, during january 2001-december 2011 at a statistical local area level. spatio-temporal analyses were used to identify the patterns of the disease distribution over time stratified by age, sex, and space. the results show that the mean annual incidence was 54 ...	2014	24799374
a spatial and temporal analysis of japanese encephalitis in mainland china, 1963-1975: a period without japanese encephalitis vaccination.	more than a million japanese encephalitis (je) cases occurred in mainland china from the 1960s to 1970s without vaccine interventions. the aim of this study is to analyze the spatial and temporal pattern of je cases reported in mainland china from 1965 to 1973 in the absence of je vaccination, and to discuss the impacts of climatic and geographical factors on je during that period. thus, the data of reported je cases at provincial level and monthly precipitation and monthly mean temperature from ...	2014	24911168
the west nile virus-like flavivirus koutango is highly virulent in mice due to delayed viral clearance and the induction of a poor neutralizing antibody response.	the mosquito-borne west nile virus (wnv) is responsible for outbreaks of viral encephalitis in humans, horses, and birds, with particularly virulent strains causing recent outbreaks of disease in eastern europe, the middle east, north america, and australia. previous studies have phylogenetically separated wnv strains into two main genetic lineages (i and ii) containing virulent strains associated with neurological disease. several wnv-like strains clustering outside these lineages have been ide ...	2014	24942584
complete genome sequences of the prototype isolates of genotypes 2, 3, and 4 of murray valley encephalitis virus.	murray valley encephalitis virus (mvev) (flaviviridae family, flavivirus genus), a mosquito-borne pathogen of humans and horses, is endemic to the australasian region. we report here the complete genomes of the prototype strains of mvev genotypes 2, 3, and 4.	2014	24948762
environmental predictors of west nile fever risk in europe.	west nile virus (wnv) is a mosquito-borne pathogen of global public health importance. transmission of wnv is determined by abiotic and biotic factors. the objective of this study was to examine environmental variables as predictors of wnv risk in europe and neighboring countries, considering the anomalies of remotely sensed water and vegetation indices and of temperature at the locations of west nile fever (wnf) outbreaks reported in humans between 2002 and 2013.	2014	24986363
comparison of genotypes i and iii in japanese encephalitis virus reveals distinct differences in their genetic and host diversity.	japanese encephalitis (je) is an arthropod-borne disease associated with the majority of viral encephalitis cases in the asia-pacific region. the causative agent, japanese encephalitis virus (jev), has been phylogenetically divided into five genotypes. recent surveillance data indicate that genotype i (gi) is gradually replacing genotype iii (giii) as the dominant genotype. to investigate the mechanism behind the genotype shift and the potential consequences in terms of vaccine efficacy, human c ...	2014	25056890
complete coding sequences of three members of the kokobera group of flaviviruses.	the kokobera group of flaviviruses circulates in australia and papua, new guinea, and has been associated with occasional human polyarticular disease. to facilitate future studies to identify virulence determinants, the complete coding regions of the stratford virus, and isolates of the bainyik virus and torres virus were obtained.	2014	25237018
programmed ribosomal frameshift alters expression of west nile virus genes and facilitates virus replication in birds and mosquitoes.	west nile virus (wnv) is a human pathogen of significant medical importance with close to 40,000 cases of encephalitis and more than 1,600 deaths reported in the us alone since its first emergence in new york in 1999. previous studies identified a motif in the beginning of non-structural gene ns2a of encephalitic flaviviruses including wnv which induces programmed -1 ribosomal frameshift (prf) resulting in production of an additional ns protein ns1'. we have previously demonstrated that mutant w ...	2014	25375107
seasonal drivers of the epidemiology of arthropod-borne viruses in australia.	arthropod-borne viruses are a major cause of emerging disease with significant public health and economic impacts. however, the factors that determine their activity and seasonality are not well understood. in australia, a network of sentinel cattle herds is used to monitor the distribution of several such viruses and to define virus-free regions. herein, we utilize these serological data to describe the seasonality, and its drivers, of three economically important animal arboviruses: bluetongue ...	2014	25412443
koolpinyah and yata viruses: two newly recognised ephemeroviruses from tropical regions of australia and africa.	koolpinyah virus (koolv) isolated from healthy australian cattle and yata virus (yatv) isolated from a pool of mansonia uniformis mosquitoes in the central african republic have been tentatively identified as rhabdoviruses. koolv was shown previously to be related antigenically to kotonkon virus, an ephemerovirus that has caused an ephemeral fever-like illness in cattle in nigeria, but yatv failed to react antigenically with any other virus tested. here we report the complete genome sequences of ...	2014	25457369
rainfall and sentinel chicken seroconversions predict human cases of murray valley encephalitis in the north of western australia.	murray valley encephalitis virus (mvev) is a flavivirus that occurs in australia and new guinea. while clinical cases are uncommon, mvev can cause severe encephalitis with high mortality. sentinel chicken surveillance is used at many sites around australia to provide an early warning system for risk of human infection in areas that have low population density and geographical remoteness. mvev in western australia occurs in areas of low population density and geographical remoteness, resulting in ...	2014	25490948
role of enhanced vector transmission of a new west nile virus strain in an outbreak of equine disease in australia in 2011.	in 2011, a variant of west nile virus kunjin strain (wnvkun) caused an unprecedented epidemic of neurological disease in horses in southeast australia, resulting in almost 1,000 cases and a 9% fatality rate. we investigated whether increased fitness of the virus in the primary vector, culex annulirostris, and another potential vector, culex australicus, contributed to the widespread nature of the outbreak.	2014	25499981
environmental and genetic factors determine whether the mosquito aedes aegypti lays eggs without a blood meal.	some mosquito strains or species are able to lay eggs without taking a blood meal, a trait named autogeny. this may allow populations to persist through times or places where vertebrate hosts are scarce. autogenous egg production is highly dependent on the environment in some species, but the ideal conditions for its expression in aedes aegypti mosquitoes are unknown. we found that 3.2% of females in a population of ae. aegypti from kenya were autogenous. autogeny was strongly influenced by temp ...	2015	25646251
climate change impacts on west nile virus transmission in a global context.	west nile virus (wnv), the most widely distributed virus of the encephalitic flaviviruses, is a vector-borne pathogen of global importance. the transmission cycle exists in rural and urban areas where the virus infects birds, humans, horses and other mammals. multiple factors impact the transmission and distribution of wnv, related to the dynamics and interactions between pathogen, vector, vertebrate hosts and environment. hence, among other drivers, weather conditions have direct and indirect i ...	0	25688020
new insights into flavivirus evolution, taxonomy and biogeographic history, extended by analysis of canonical and alternative coding sequences.	to generate the most diverse phylogenetic dataset for the flaviviruses to date, we determined the genomic sequences and phylogenetic relationships of 14 flaviviruses, of which 10 are primarily associated with culex spp. mosquitoes. we analyze these data, in conjunction with a comprehensive collection of flavivirus genomes, to characterize flavivirus evolutionary and biogeographic history in unprecedented detail and breadth. based on the presumed introduction of yellow fever virus into the americ ...	2015	25719412
plant essential oils synergize and antagonize toxicity of different conventional insecticides against myzus persicae (hemiptera: aphididae).	plant-derived products can play an important role in pest management programs. essential oils from lavandula angustifolia (lavender) and thymus vulgaris (thyme) and their main constituents, linalool and thymol, respectively, were evaluated for insecticidal activity and synergistic action in combination with insecticides against green peach aphid, myzus persicae (sulzer) (hemiptera: aphididae). the essential oils and their main constituents exerted similar insecticidal activity when aphids were e ...	2015	26010088
evaluation of traps and lures for mosquito vectors and xenomonitoring of wuchereria bancrofti infection in a high prevalence samoan village.	elimination of lymphatic filariasis (lf) in samoa continues to be challenging despite multiple annual mass drug campaigns aimed at stopping transmission by reducing the prevalence and density of microfilaraemia. the persistence of transmission may be partly related to the highly efficient aedes vectors. the assessment of pathogen transmission by mosquito vectors and of vector control relies on the ability to capture mosquitoes efficiently. the aims of this study are to compare trapping methods t ...	2015	26016830
ross river virus (rrv) infection in horses and humans: a review.	a fascinating and important arbovirus is ross river virus (rrv) which is endemic and epizootic in nature in certain parts of the world. rrv is a member of the genus alphavirus within the semliki forest complex of the family togaviridae, which also includes the getah virus. the virus is responsible for causing disease both in humans as well as horses. mosquito species (aedes camptorhynchus and aedes vigilax; culex annulirostris) are the most important vector for this virus. in places of low tempe ...	2014	26035950
trypanosomes modify the behavior of their insect hosts: effects on locomotion and on the expression of a related gene.	as a result of evolution, the biology of triatomines must have been significantly adapted to accommodate trypanosome infection in a complex network of vector-vertebrate-parasite interactions. arthropod-borne parasites have probably developed mechanisms, largely still unknown, to exploit the vector-vertebrate host interactions to ensure their transmission to suitable hosts. triatomines exhibit a strong negative phototaxis and nocturnal activity, believed to be important for insect survival agains ...	2015	26291723
cullin4 is pro-viral during west nile virus infection of culex mosquitoes.	although mosquitoes serve as vectors of many pathogens of public health importance, their response to viral infection is poorly understood. it also remains to be investigated whether viruses deploy some mechanism to be able to overcome this immune response. here, we have used an rna-seq approach to identify differentially regulated genes in culex quinquefasciatus cells following west nile virus (wnv) infection, identifying 265 transcripts from various cellular pathways that were either upregulat ...	2015	26325027
field comparison of cyclopentanone versus carbon dioxide as an attractant for adult mosquitoes in southeast queensland, australia.	cyclopentanone is a saturated monoketone typically used as an intermediate in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, biologicals, insecticides, and rubber chemicals. recently, it has been demonstrated that cyclopentanone activates the cpa co2 receptor neuron on the maxillary palp of mosquitoes, suggesting that it may be a viable alternative to co2 as an attractant for mosquitoes. furthermore, semifield experiments showed that traps baited with cyclopentanone attract culex quinquefasciatus say at a ...	2015	26334825
ross river virus: many vectors and unusual hosts make for an unpredictable pathogen.		2015	26335937
development and field evaluation of the sentinel mosquito arbovirus capture kit (smack).	although sentinel animals are used successfully throughout the world to monitor arbovirus activity, ethical considerations and cross-reactions in serological assays highlight the importance of developing viable alternatives. here we outline the development of a passive sentinel mosquito arbovirus capture kit (smack) that allows for the detection of arboviruses on honey-baited nucleic acid preservation cards (flinders technology associates; fta®) and has a similar trap efficacy as standard light ...	2015	26444264
larval temperature-food effects on adult mosquito infection and vertical transmission of dengue-1 virus.	temperature-food interactions in the larval environment can affect life history and population growth of container mosquitoes aedes aegypti (l.) and aedes albopictus skuse, the primary vectors of chikungunya and dengue viruses. we used ae. aegypti, ae. albopictus, and dengue-1 virus (denv-1) from florida to investigate whether larval rearing temperature can alter the effects of larval food levels on ae. aegypti and ae. albopictus life history and denv-1 infection and vertical transmission. altho ...	2015	26489999
epidemiology and control of bovine ephemeral fever.	bovine ephemeral fever (or 3-day sickness) is an acute febrile illness of cattle and water buffaloes. caused by an arthropod-borne rhabdovirus, bovine ephemeral fever virus (befv), the disease occurs seasonally over a vast expanse of the globe encompassing much of africa, the middle east, asia and australia. although mortality rates are typically low, infection prevalence and morbidity rates during outbreaks are often very high, causing serious economic impacts through loss of milk production, p ...	2015	26511615
global emergence of alphaviruses that cause arthritis in humans.	arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) may cause severe emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, which pose a significant threat to human and animal health in the world today. these infectious diseases range from mild febrile illnesses, arthritis, and encephalitis to haemorrhagic fevers. it is postulated that certain environmental factors, vector competence, and host susceptibility have a major impact on the ecology of arboviral diseases. presently, there is a great interest in the emergence ...	2015	26689654
a case report of mycoplasma wenyonii associated immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia in a dairy cow.	a three year old, second lactation holstein dairy cow presented to the scottish centre for production animal health and food safety, glasgow university veterinary school in november 2014 with a history of post-calving vulval/vaginal bleeding nine days prior to presentation, followed by a sudden reduction in milk yield. subsequent investigations resulted in a diagnosis of immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia secondary to infection with mycoplasma wenyonii.	2016	26807214
a bayesian belief network for murray valley encephalitis virus risk assessment in western australia.	murray valley encephalitis virus (mvev) is a clinically important virus in australia responsible for a number of epidemics over the past century. since there is no vaccine for mvev, other preventive health measures to curtail its spread must be considered, including the development of predictive risk models and maps to help direct public health interventions. this article aims to support these approaches by presenting a model for assessing mvev risk in western australia (wa).	2016	26823368
a newly discovered flavivirus in the yellow fever virus group displays restricted replication in vertebrates.	a novel flavivirus, provisionally named bamaga virus (bgv), was isolated from culex annulirostris mosquitoes collected from northern australia. phylogenetic analysis of the complete nucleotide sequence of the bgv genome revealed it clustered with the yellow fever virus (yfv) group, and was most closely related to edge hill virus (ehv), another australian flavivirus, with 61.9% nucleotide and 63.7% amino acid sequence identity. antigenic analysis of the envelope and pre-membrane proteins of bgv f ...	2016	26878841
wolbachia biocontrol strategies for arboviral diseases and the potential influence of resident wolbachia strains in mosquitoes.	arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes are a major cause of human disease worldwide. the absence of vaccines and effective vector control strategies has resulted in the need for novel mosquito control strategies. the endosymbiotic bacterium wolbachia has been proposed to form the basis for an effective mosquito biocontrol strategy. resident strains of wolbachia inhibit viral replication in drosophila fruit flies and induce a reproductive phenotype known as cytoplasmic incompatibility that allows ...	2016	26925368
the spatio-temporal distribution of japanese encephalitis cases in different age groups in mainland china, 2004 - 2014.	japanese encephalitis (je) is very prevalent in china, but the incidence of je among children has been greatly reduced by extensive promotion of vaccinations. the incidence of je among adults, however, has increased in some parts of china.	2016	27050414
genetic characterization of archived bunyaviruses and their potential for emergence in australia.	to better understand the diversity of bunyaviruses and their circulation in australia, we sequenced 5 viruses (gan gan, trubanaman, kowanyama, yacaaba, and taggert) isolated and serologically identified 4 decades ago as members of the family bunyaviridae. gan gan and trubanaman viruses almost perfectly matched 2 recently isolated, purportedly novel viruses, salt ash and murrumbidgee viruses, respectively. kowanyama and yacaaba viruses were identified as being related to members of a large clade ...	0	27088588
a new orbivirus isolated from mosquitoes in north-western australia shows antigenic and genetic similarity to corriparta virus but does not replicate in vertebrate cells.	the discovery and characterisation of new mosquito-borne viruses provides valuable information on the biodiversity of vector-borne viruses and important insights into their evolution. in this study, a broad-spectrum virus screening system, based on the detection of long double-stranded rna in inoculated cell cultures, was used to investigate the presence of novel viruses in mosquito populations of northern australia. we detected and isolated a new virus (tentatively named parry's lagoon virus, p ...	2016	27213426
molecular identification of mosquitoes (diptera: culicidae) in southeastern australia.	dna barcoding is a modern species identification technique that can be used to distinguish morphologically similar species, and is particularly useful when using small amounts of starting material from partial specimens or from immature stages. in order to use dna barcoding in a surveillance program, a database containing mosquito barcode sequences is required. this study obtained cytochrome oxidase i (coi) sequences for 113 morphologically identified specimens, representing 29 species, six trib ...	2016	27217948
a glance at subgenomic flavivirus rnas and micrornas in flavivirus infections.	the family flaviviridae comprises a wide variety of viruses that are distributed worldwide, some of which are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. there are neither vaccines nor antivirals for most flavivirus infections, reinforcing the importance of research on different aspects of the viral life cycle. during infection, cytoplasmic accumulation of rna fragments mainly originating from the 3' utrs, which have been designated subgenomic flavivirus rnas (sfrnas), has been detect ...	2016	27233361
mosquito communities and disease risk influenced by land use change and seasonality in the australian tropics.	anthropogenic land use changes have contributed considerably to the rise of emerging and re-emerging mosquito-borne diseases. these diseases appear to be increasing as a result of the novel juxtapositions of habitats and species that can result in new interchanges of vectors, diseases and hosts. we studied whether the mosquito community structure varied between habitats and seasons and whether known disease vectors displayed habitat preferences in tropical australia.	2016	27388293
virulence and evolution of west nile virus, australia, 1960-2012.	worldwide, west nile virus (wnv) causes encephalitis in humans, horses, and birds. the kunjin strain of wnv (wnvkun) is endemic to northern australia, but infections are usually asymptomatic. in 2011, an unprecedented outbreak of equine encephalitis occurred in southeastern australia; most of the ≈900 reported cases were attributed to a newly emerged wnvkun strain. to investigate the origins of this virus, we performed genetic analysis and in vitro and in vivo studies of 13 wnvkun isolates colle ...	0	27433830
the insect-specific palm creek virus modulates west nile virus infection in and transmission by australian mosquitoes.	insect-specific viruses do not replicate in vertebrate cells, but persist in mosquito populations and are highly prevalent in nature. these viruses may naturally regulate the transmission of pathogenic vertebrate-infecting arboviruses in co-infected mosquitoes. following the isolation of the first australian insect-specific flavivirus (isf), palm creek virus (pcv), we investigated routes of infection and transmission of this virus in key australian arbovirus vectors and its impact on replication ...	2016	27457250
assessment of local mosquito species incriminates aedes aegypti as the potential vector of zika virus in australia.	within the last 10 years zika virus (zikv) has caused unprecedented epidemics of human disease in the nations and territories of the western pacific and south america, and continues to escalate in both endemic and non-endemic regions. we evaluated the vector competence of australian mosquitoes for zikv to assess their potential role in virus transmission.	2016	27643685
using next-generation sequencing for dna barcoding: capturing allelic variation in its2.	internal transcribed spacer 2 (its2) is a popular dna barcoding marker; however, in some animal species it is hypervariable and therefore difficult to sequence with traditional methods. with next-generation sequencing (ngs) it is possible to sequence all gene variants despite the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps), insertions/deletions (indels), homopolymeric regions, and microsatellites. our aim was to compare the performance of sanger sequencing and ngs amplicon sequencing in c ...	2017	27799340
determining culex annulirostris larval densities and control efforts across a coastal wetland, northern territory, australia.	the darwin coastal wetlands provide suitable breeding conditions for culex annulirostris, which is abundant between december and august each year. this species is the principal vector for arboviruses, including ross river virus and murray valley encephalitis, and is an appreciable pest species. aerial control is conducted when routine larval surveys for this species predict high numbers of emergent adults. we sought to determine the most productive vegetation categories and seasonal aspects asso ...	2016	27860005
predictive modelling of ross river virus notifications in southeastern australia.	ross river virus (rrv) is a mosquito-borne virus endemic to australia. the disease, marked by arthritis, myalgia and rash, has a complex epidemiology involving several mosquito species and wildlife reservoirs. outbreak years coincide with climatic conditions conducive to mosquito population growth. we developed regression models for human rrv notifications in the mildura local government area, victoria, australia with the objective of increasing understanding of the relationships in this complex ...	2017	27866492
a comparative analysis of three vector-borne diseases across australia using seasonal and meteorological models.	ross river virus (rrv), barmah forest virus (bfv), and dengue are three common mosquito-borne diseases in australia that display notable seasonal patterns. although all three diseases have been modeled on localized scales, no previous study has used harmonic models to compare seasonality of mosquito-borne diseases on a continent-wide scale. we fit poisson harmonic regression models to surveillance data on rrv, bfv, and dengue (from 1993, 1995 and 1991, respectively, through 2015) incorporating s ...	2017	28071683
commensal viruses of mosquitoes: host restriction, transmission, and interaction with arboviral pathogens.	recent advances in virus detection strategies and deep sequencing technologies have enabled the identification of a multitude of new viruses that persistently infect mosquitoes but do not infect vertebrates. these are usually referred to as insect-specific viruses (isvs). these novel viruses have generated considerable interest in their modes of transmission, persistence in mosquito populations, the mechanisms that restrict their host range to mosquitoes, and their interactions with pathogens tr ...	2017	28096646
identification of very small open reading frames in the genomes of holmes jungle virus, ord river virus, and wongabel virus of the genus hapavirus, family rhabdoviridae.	viruses of the family rhabdoviridae infect a broad range of hosts from a variety of ecological and geographical niches, including vertebrates, arthropods, and plants. the arthropod-transmitted members of this family display considerable genetic diversity and remarkable genomic flexibility that enable coding for various accessory proteins in different locations of the genome. here, we describe the genome of holmes jungle virus, isolated from culex annulirostris mosquitoes collected in northern au ...	2017	28747815