Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate mosquito abundance, species diversity, larval and adult population dynamics in seven lagoons integrated in the wetland coastal system of the Algarve, Portugal, in the summer of 2007, as well as the screening of these for West Nile virus (WNV). WNV has been isolated from mosquitoes in this region, in the summer of 2004, next to the putative area of infection of two linked human WN cases. Adult mosquitoes were collected with CDC traps baited with CO2, and potential breeding sites were surveyed for immature stages. Morphological identification of 1,432 adult mosquitoes and 85 larvae revealed the presence of 10 species: Anopheles atroparvus, Anopheles algeriensis, Coquillettidia richiardii, Culex modestus, Culex pipiens, Culex theileri, Culex univittatus, Culiseta longiareolata, Aedes caspius, and Aedes detritus. Adult mosquito peak densities were recorded in July, contrasting with null larval breeding in the same month in the surveyed biotopes. Most abundant species were C. pipiens (52%), C. theileri (29%), and A. caspius (11%). Lagoon Salgados and Quinta das Salinas, exhibited the highest similarity of culicid fauna, despite being most distant from each other, Female mosquitoes (1,249 specimens) screened by RT-PCR, did not reveal WNV products. However, previous detection of WNV activity in this area, susceptible to re-introductions, demands for continued vigilance.
Highlights
Mosquitoes act as vectors in the transmission of human diseases, such as several arboviruses belonging to the genera Alphavirus, Flavivirus, and Bunyavirus (Lundström, 1999)
Eight species were collected as adult mosquitoes: Anopheles (Anopheles) algeriensis (n = 14), Aedes (Ochlerotatus) caspius (n = 152), Aedes (Ochlerotatus) detritus s.l. (n = 7), Coquillettidia richiardii (n = 20), Culex (Culex) pipiens (n = 749), Culex (Culex) theileri (n = 415), Culex (Culex) univittatus (n = 51), and Culiseta (Allotheobaldia) longiareolata (n = 24), The most abundant was C. pipiens (52%), which peaked in July, as did A. caspius, the third most common species (11%)
There was no detection of West Nile virus (WNV) nucleic acid sequences. This survey for mosquitoes along seven lagoons located along the coastal line of the Algarve evidenced a seasonal dynamic of adults, following a typical pattern accompanying the mean temperature, with highest densities in the hottest summer months for temperate climates (Lysyk, 2010)
Summary
Mosquitoes act as vectors in the transmission of human diseases, such as several arboviruses belonging to the genera Alphavirus, Flavivirus, and Bunyavirus (Lundström, 1999). West Nile virus (WNV) currently the most widely distributed arbovirus in the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica, has been reported to occur in mosquitoes and to infect human and other vertebrates (Kramer et al, 2008). This virus was first isolated from the blood of a sick woman in the West Nile District of Uganda in 1937 (Smithburn et al, 1940). In the summer 2004 two linked WNV cases were reported in Irish tourists, acquired in the Algarve (Connell et al, 2004) after which WNV was isolated from mosquitoes in the same region (Esteves et al, 2005)
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