Update of the Mosquito Fauna (Diptera: Culicidae) of Sancti Spíritus and Villa Clara Provinces, Cuba

Abstract

Mosquito borne diseases constitute one of the priority health problems in most tropical countries, with emphasis on species with marked entomoepidemiological importance. The objective of this research was to update the mosquito entomofauna of Sancti Spíritus and Villa Clara provinces, Cuba. The research covered a period of 15 years (2007-2022). For the collection of the data used in the study, they were organized in the Excel application for Windows (years, months, municipalities and accumulated of both provinces), for which a database was created with all the documentary review of the records and statistical files existing in the Provincial Unit of Surveillance and Antivectorial Fight (UPVLA) of Sancti Spíritus and Villa Clara, as well as in the Provincial Departments of Health Statistics of both provinces, where all the entomological history of the work cycles conceived in the municipalities that make up both provinces is compiled. A total of 42 species of mosquitoes (59.15%) distributed in 12 genera were found in Sancti Spíritus province, while in Villa Clara, the figure amounted to 45 species (63.38%) distributed in 13 genera, all this, taking into account the 71 species of mosquitoes currently registered for Cuba. The most frequent and best represented species in both provinces were Anopheles albimanus, Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Culex quinquefasciatus, Cx. nigripalpus and Psorophora confinnis. The species Ae. vittatus was recorded in the two provinces under investigation, which is a highly invasive species. The results showed the great ecological plasticity of the entomofauna of culicidae in both provinces of Cuba.