Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Universidad de Extremadura, Facultad de Ciencias, Avenida de Elvas S/N, 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
Departamento de Biología de la Conservación y Cambio Global, Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-CSIC, Avda. Américo Vespucio 26, 41092, Seville, Spain.
Parasit Vectors. 2023 Nov 1;16(1):395. doi: 10.1186/s13071-023-05964-1.
Vector-borne diseases affecting humans, wildlife and livestock have significantly increased their incidence and distribution in the last decades. Because the interaction among vectors-parasite-vertebrate hosts plays a key role driving vector-borne disease transmission, the analyses of the diversity and structure of vector-parasite networks and host-feeding preference may help to assess disease risk. Also, the study of seasonal variations in the structure and composition of vector and parasite communities may elucidate the current patterns of parasite persistence and spread as well as facilitate prediction of how climate variations may impact vector-borne disease transmission. Avian malaria and related haemosporidian parasites constitute an exceptional model to understand the ecology and evolution of vector-borne diseases. However, the characterization of vector-haemosporidian parasite-bird host assemblages is largely unknown in many regions.
Here, we analyzed 5859 female mosquitoes captured from May to November in five localities from southwestern Spain to explore the composition and seasonal variation of the vector-parasite-vertebrate host network.
We showed a gradual increase in mosquito abundance, peaking in July. A total of 16 different haemosporidian lineages were found infecting 13 mosquito species. Of these assemblages, more than 70% of these vector-parasite associations have not been described in previous studies. Moreover, three Haemoproteus lineages were reported for the first time in this study. The prevalence of avian malaria infections in mosquitoes varied significantly across the months, reaching a maximum in November. Mosquito blood-feeding preference was higher for mammals (62.5%), whereas 37.5% of vectors fed on birds, suggesting opportunistic feeding behavior.
These outcomes improve our understanding of disease transmission risk and help tovector control strategies.
在过去几十年中，影响人类、野生动物和家畜的虫媒病的发病率和分布显著增加。由于媒介-寄生虫-脊椎动物宿主之间的相互作用在驱动虫媒病传播方面起着关键作用，因此分析媒介-寄生虫网络的多样性和结构以及宿主的取食偏好有助于评估疾病风险。此外，研究媒介和寄生虫群落结构和组成的季节性变化可以阐明寄生虫持续存在和传播的当前模式，并有助于预测气候变化如何影响虫媒病传播。禽疟原虫和相关血孢子虫寄生虫构成了理解虫媒病生态学和进化的特殊模型。然而，在许多地区，对于媒介-血孢子虫寄生虫-鸟类宿主组合的特征描述还知之甚少。
在这里，我们分析了 5859 只 5 月至 11 月从西班牙西南部五个地点捕获的雌性蚊子，以探索媒介-寄生虫-脊椎动物宿主网络的组成和季节性变化。
我们发现蚊子的数量逐渐增加，在 7 月达到峰值。共发现 16 种不同的血孢子虫谱系感染了 13 种蚊子。在这些组合中，超过 70%的媒介-寄生虫关联以前没有在研究中描述过。此外，有 3 种 Haemoproteus 谱系在本研究中首次报道。蚊子感染禽疟原虫的流行率在不同月份差异显著，11 月达到最高。蚊子的血液取食偏好较高的是哺乳动物（62.5%），而 37.5%的媒介取食鸟类，表明存在机会性取食行为。
这些结果提高了我们对疾病传播风险的认识，并有助于制定蚊虫控制策略。
