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1 November 2012 Host-Feeding Pattern of Culex theileri (Diptera: Culicidae), Potential Vector of Dirofilaria immitis in the Canary Islands, Spain
Josué Martínez—De La Puente, Isabel Moreno—Indias, Lorenzo Enrique Hernández—Castellano, Anastasio Argüello, Santiago Ruiz, Ramón Soriguer, Jordi Figuerola
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Abstract

To identify the host range of potential vectors of Dirofilaria immitis Leidy, the causal agent of canine dirofilariasis, we studied the bloodmeal origin of mosquitoes trapped on two of the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria and Tenerife, where this disease is considered hyperendemic. On Gran Canaria, mosquitoes were captured using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) traps (outdoors) and resting in a bathroom (indoors). Only CDC traps were used to capture mosquitoes in Tenerife. The species captured in decreasing order of abundance were Culex theileri Theobald, Culex pipiens L., Culiseta longiareolata Macquart, Anopheles atroparvus van Thiel, and Anopheles cinereus Theobald. The origins of bloodmeals were identified for 121 Cx. theileri and 4 Cx. pipiens after amplification and sequencing of a fragment of the vertebrate cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. Cx. theileri fed on goats, sheep, dogs, cattle, cats, humans, and chickens, and Cx. pipiens fed on goats and chickens. A lower success of bloodmeal identification was obtained in mosquitoes captured resting indoors than outdoors in CDC traps, probably because of a longer time period between feeding and capture. Although most Cx. theileri fed on ruminants, this species also fed on different mammal species susceptible to dirofiliarasis, including humans, suggesting it could play a role on parasite transmission.

© 2012 Entomological Society of America
Josué Martínez—De La Puente, Isabel Moreno—Indias, Lorenzo Enrique Hernández—Castellano, Anastasio Argüello, Santiago Ruiz, Ramón Soriguer, and Jordi Figuerola "Host-Feeding Pattern of Culex theileri (Diptera: Culicidae), Potential Vector of Dirofilaria immitis in the Canary Islands, Spain," Journal of Medical Entomology 49(6), 1419-1423, (1 November 2012). https://doi.org/10.1603/ME12081
Received: 3 April 2012; Accepted: 16 July 2012; Published: 1 November 2012
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KEYWORDS
Dirofilariasis
dog
host-parasite interaction
human
mosquito
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