Department of Epizootiology, Parasitology and Protection of One Health, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Komenského 73, 041 81 Košice, Slovak Republic.
Parasite. 2021;28:58. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2021058. Epub 2021 Jul 20.
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.
致锥蠓属的咬蠓是影响家养和野生动物的重要病原体的载体，并且在欧洲蓝舌病（BTV）和沙氏门菌（SBV）病毒的新爆发中发挥了重要作用。为了确定媒介-宿主的特异性，从血液餐分析中确定营养偏好对于监测节肢动物传播的疾病至关重要。在收集的 28752 个标本中，我们鉴定出 17 种锥蠓，并对血液餐中的 48 个宿主序列进行了调查。发现致锥蠓属/ C. scoticus、C. dewulfi、C. pulicaris、C. lupicaris、C. punctatus、C. newsteadi、C. riethi 和 C. furcillatus 以哺乳动物（牛、马和人类）、鸟类（家鸡）、小型啮齿动物（黑线姬鼠）和野兔（欧洲兔）为食。据我们所知，这是第一项在斯洛伐克研究锥蠓属的营养偏好的研究。本研究表明，锥蠓能够以驯化的宿主脊椎动物以及鸟类、啮齿动物和人类为食。
