Abstract
Biting midges of the genus Culicoides are vectors of important pathogens affecting domestic and wild animals and have played a major role in the re-emergence of new outbreaks of bluetongue (BTV) and Schmallenberg (SBV) viruses in Europe. To determine vector-host specificity, trophic preference from blood meal analysis is of major importance in the surveillance of arthropod-borne diseases. Of 28,752 specimens collected, we identified 17 Culicoides species and investigated a total of 48 host sequences from the blood meals. Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus, C. dewulfi, C. pulicaris, C. lupicaris, C. punctatus, C. newsteadi, C. riethi, and C. furcillatus were found to feed on mammals (cattle, horses, and humans), birds (domestic chickens), small rodents (Apodemus flavicollis), and hares (Lepus europaeus). To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating trophic preferences of Culicoides spp. in Slovakia. This study demonstrated that Culicoides species are able to feed on domesticated host vertebrates as well as birds, rodents, and humans.
Highlights
The biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are small hematophagous Diptera which are important for their ability to transmit pathogens of microbial and parasitic origin
A total of 28,752 individuals of 17 species of Culicoides biting midges were captured on the cattle and horse farms (Table 2)
As for the Culicoides subgenus, we examined 22 samples of biting midges, i.e., C. newsteadi (n = 8), C. pulicaris (n = 7), C. punctatus (n = 5), and C. lupicaris (n = 2)
Summary
The biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are small hematophagous Diptera which are important for their ability to transmit pathogens of microbial and parasitic origin. After 2006, when bluetongue virus serotype 8 began to spread extensively, there was increased interest in monitoring biting midge occurrence and in investigating species. Determining the transmission dynamics of biting midges and pathogens requires an understanding of the interactions between these midges and vertebrate host communities. Such interactions are characterized through molecular methods that determine the taxonomic origin of a ceratopogonid blood meal. This was the first study in Slovakia to analyse the detected host’s blood based on a segment of the mitochondrial gene (cytochrome b)
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