Culex distribution, vector competence and threat of transmission of arboviruses to humans and animals in the UK
This project investigates the distribution, habitat use, host feeding preferences, and vector competence of native Culex mosquitoes for West Nile and Usutu viruses under current and future UK climate conditions.
About the project
This project assesses the risk from the UK Culex pipiens complex and related Culex torrentium mosquitoes for transmission of West Nile virus and Usutu virus.
The team is collecting geographic, larval habitat, host-feeding, and vector competence data to build UK transmission models under typical summer, heatwave, and future climate conditions.
Project details
- Project lead(s)
- Professor Matthew Baylis and Marcus Blagrove
- Lead organisation
- University of Liverpool
- Award value
- £984,395
- Period
- April 2023 to March 2026
People and organisations
Team members
- Matthew BaylisPrincipal Investigator
- Lisa ReimerCo-Investigator
- Jolyon MedlockCo-Investigator
- Jennifer LordCo-Investigator
- Luigi SeddaCo-Investigator
- Marcus BlagrovePrincipal Investigator
Participating organisations
- University of Liverpool
- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
- UK Health Security Agency
- Lancaster University
Research focus
- Culex mosquitoes
- West Nile virus
- Usutu virus
- Risk maps
How this connects to VBD Hub
The project is expected to produce vector occurrence, habitat, competence, and model output data that can strengthen national preparedness for mosquito-borne arboviruses.
VBD Hub was not directly part of these research consortia. It was funded as follow-on shared infrastructure to support discovery, documentation, and reuse of outputs across the wider UK One Health vector-borne disease community.