Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 040 01, Košice, Slovakia.
State Veterinary and Food Institute, Botanická 15, 842 52, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Parasit Vectors. 2018 Apr 24;11(1):261. doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-2845-1.
Despite long-term research on dirofilariosis in Slovakia, little attention has thus far been paid to Dirofilaria vectors. The particular aim of the present study was molecular screening for filarioid parasites in two different habitats of Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. In addition, the effect of urbanisation on mosquito species abundance and composition, associated with the risk of mosquito-borne infections, was studied and discussed.
Mosquitoes were identified by morphological features, and molecular methods were also used for determination of selected individuals belonging to cryptic species from the Anopheles maculipennis and Culex pipiens complexes. The presence of filarioid DNA (Dirofilaria repens, Dirofilaria immitis and Setaria spp.) was detected using standard PCR approaches and sequencing.
A total of 6957 female mosquitoes were collected for the study. Overall, the most abundant mosquito species was Aedes vexans, closely followed by unidentified members of the Cx. pipiens complex and the less numerous but still plentiful Ochlerotatus sticticus species. Further investigation of mosquito material revealed 4.26% relative prevalence of Dirofilaria spp., whereby both species, D. repens and D. immitis, were identified. The majority of positive mosquito pools had their origin in a floodplain area on the outskirts of the city, with a relative prevalence of 5.32%; only two mosquito pools (1.26%) were shown to be positive in the residential zone of Bratislava. Setaria spp. DNA was not detected in mosquitoes within this study.
The study presented herein represents initial research focused on molecular mosquito screening for filarioid parasites in urban and urban-fringe habitats of Bratislava, Slovakia. Molecular analyses within the Cx. pipiens complex identified two biotypes: Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens and Cx. pipiens biotype molestus. To our knowledge, Dirofilaria spp. were detected for the first time in Slovakia in mosquitoes other than Ae. vexans, i.e. D. repens in Anopheles messeae and unidentified members of An. maculipennis and Cx. pipiens complexes, and D. immitis in Coquillettidia richiardii and Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens. Both dirofilarial species were found in Och. sticticus. The suitable conditions for the vectors' biology would represent the main risk factor for dirofilariosis transmission.
尽管斯洛伐克对犬心丝虫病进行了长期研究，但迄今为止，人们对犬心丝虫病的传播媒介关注甚少。本研究的特定目的是在斯洛伐克首都布拉迪斯拉发的两个不同生境中对类丝虫寄生虫进行分子筛查。此外，还研究和讨论了城市化对与蚊媒感染相关的蚊子物种丰度和组成的影响。
通过形态特征鉴定蚊子，并使用分子方法确定来自斑蚊属和库蚊属复合体的某些隐种的选定个体。使用标准 PCR 方法和测序检测类丝虫 DNA（犬心丝虫、犬恶丝虫和马氏管线虫）的存在。
共收集了 6957 只雌性蚊子进行研究。总体而言，最丰富的蚊子物种是骚扰阿蚊，其次是未鉴定的库蚊复合体成员和数量较少但仍然丰富的刺扰伊蚊。对蚊子材料的进一步调查显示，类丝虫的相对流行率为 4.26%，其中鉴定出了犬心丝虫和犬恶丝虫两种物种。大多数阳性蚊子池的起源是城市郊区的洪泛区，相对流行率为 5.32%；仅在布拉迪斯拉发的住宅区发现了两个阳性蚊子池（1.26%）。本研究中未在蚊子中检测到马氏管线虫 DNA。
本研究代表了对斯洛伐克布拉迪斯拉发城市和城市边缘栖息地的类丝虫寄生虫进行分子蚊子筛查的初步研究。在库蚊复合体中的分子分析鉴定出了两种生物型：库蚊生物型 pipiens 和库蚊生物型 molestus。据我们所知，犬心丝虫在斯洛伐克首次在非骚扰阿蚊以外的蚊子中被检测到，即马氏管线虫在斑蚊属和未鉴定的斑蚊属和库蚊属复合体成员中，以及犬恶丝虫在库蚊生物型 pipiens 和库蚊生物型 molestus 中。这两个犬心丝虫物种都在刺扰伊蚊中被发现。传播媒介生物学的适宜条件将是传播犬心丝虫病的主要风险因素。
