Three novel
insect-specific
flaviviruses, isolated from
mosquitoes collected in
Peru,
Malaysia (
Sarawak), and the
United States, are characterized. The new
viruses, designated La Tina, Kampung Karu, and Long Pine Key, respectively, are antigenically and phylogenetically more
similar to the
mosquito-borne
flavivirus pathogens, than to the classical
insect-specific
viruses like
cell fusing agent and
Culex flavivirus. The potential implications of this relationship and the possible uses of these and other
arbovirus-related
insect-specific
flaviviruses are reviewed.