Laboratory infection of the sandfly Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli (Diptera, Psychodidae) with three Phleboviruses.

Membrane feeding and intrathoracic inoculation techniques were used to infect Phlebotomus papatasi sandflies with Phlebotomus fever group viruses. Sandflies were orally infected with Pacui virus, and were inoculated with Pacui, Sicilian sandfly fever and Naples sandfly fever viruses. Pacui virus did not multiply in these insects after oral infection, but an 8 X 10(4)-fold increase in virus concentration occurred within four days of intrathoracic inoculation of this virus. The infection rate was 100%. Sicilian sandfly fever virus multiplied in P. papatasi after infection by inoculation, although the yield was lower, a 20-fold increase in the mean virus concentration occurring over eight days. The results for Naples sandfly fever were inconsistent. A 32-fold increase in mean virus concentration was recorded in a small percentage of insects 14 days after inoculation of the virus.