[1][2] It is named for the river bordering the area in south Alabama where the prototype strain was discovered.

[1] Tensaw virus has been isolated from mosquitoes in southwest Alabama, southeast Georgia, and central and south Florida.

[3][4] Host mosquitoes include Anopheles crucians, Psorophora ciliata, Psorophora confinnis, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Aedes atlanticus, Aedes mitchellae, Culex nigripalpus, and Mansonia perturbans.

[1][3][5] The virus produces clinical disease and death in suckling and adult mice but not in hamsters, guinea pigs, or rabbits.

[1] 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.