The susceptibility profile of Culex tritaeniorhynchus to infection with West Nile virus was determined by feeding moquitoes on blood-virus mixtures through a membrane and by parenteral inoculation of virus. By membrane-feeding, 100.79, 101.87 and 102.87 intracerebral suckling mouse LD50 of the Egypt 101 strain of West Nile virus were required to infect 10%, 50% and 90% of the females, respectively. The mosquitoes were slightly less susceptible to a low-passage strain of West Nile originating from South India. By intrathoracic inoculation, 10−1.06 intracerebral suckling mouse LD50 were required to infect 50% of the females. The minimum extrinsic incubation period at 28 °C was 7 days, and 100% of the females could transmit virus after 12 days. Studies on kinetics of virus replication in the mosquito revealed a pattern of declining virus titers followed by a rapid increase, indicating virus replication. Transovarial transmission of West Nile virus by experimentally infected remales was not detected.
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Basit et al. (1980) studied this question.