West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-bone zoonotic flavivirus causing lethal encephalitis. Although the virus is absent in Japan, the activity of the virus in North America, Europe and Siberia indicates to us the possibility of the virus invading Japan in the near future. In addition to the WNV disaster, a related Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) has reemerged in some Asian countries in recent years. As a precaution against the arrival of WNV and the outbreak of JEV in our country, studies of the distribution of potential vectors are required. Since farms are considered a major environment where mosquitoes breed and many susceptible animals are kept, surveillance by field veterinarians and farmers is effective. For our field study, a database to classify mosquitoes in Japan was constructed. This web-database contains many pictures of potential vectors of WNV and JEV, and can update easily according to the demands of actual users.
(Research Team for Zoonosis, TEL +81-29-838-7753)
