Tensaw virus | |
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Virus classification | |
Group: | Group V ((−)ssRNA) |
Order: | Unassigned |
Family: | Bunyaviridae |
Genus: | Orthobunyavirus |
Species: | Tensaw virus |
Tensaw virus is a virus in the genus Orthobunyavirus of the Bunyamwera arbovirus group, family Bunyaviridae. It is named for the river bordering the area in south Alabama where the prototype strain was discovered. It is abbreviated TEN, TENV, and TSV in the scientific literature.
Tensaw virus has been isolated from mosquitoes in southwest Alabama, southeast Georgia, and central and south Florida. Host mosquitoes include Anopheles crucians, Psorophora ciliata, Psorophora confinnis, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Aedes atlanticus, Aedes mitchellae, Culex nigripalpus, and Mansonia perturbans.
The virus produces clinical disease and death in suckling and adult mice but not in hamsters, guinea pigs, or rabbits. Antibodies or virus have been detected in dogs, raccoons, cattle, and humans, but no evidence of infection has been found in sentinel chickens or wild birds.