Lack of evidence for the presence of Schmallenberg virus in mosquitoes in Germany, 2011

Background: In 2011, a novel orthobunyavirus of the Simbu serogroup was discovered near the German-Dutch border and named Schmallenberg virus (SBV). So far, SBV genome has been detected in various field-collected Culicoides species; however, other members of the Simbu serogroup are also transmitted by mosquitoes. Findings: In the present study, approximately 50,000 mosquitoes of various species were collected during summer and early autumn 2011 in Germany. None of them tested positive in an SBV-specific real-time PCR. Conclusions: The absence of SBV in mosquitoes caught in 2011 in Germany suggests that they play no or only a negligible role in the spread of the disease.