Bernardini Ilaria, Severini Francesco, Menegon Michela, Mangiapelo Claudia, Bianchi Riccardo, Bongiorno Gioia, Di Luca Marco, Boccolini Daniela
Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Reparto Malattie Trasmesse da Vettori, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Parasit Vectors. 2025 Aug 2;18(1):326. doi: 10.1186/s13071-025-06960-3.
Anopheles superpictus (subgenus Cellia) plays an efficient role in malaria transmission in countries of the Mediterranean basin, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus region, where it has been involved in the transmission of both Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax. In Italy, this species was historically considered a secondary malaria vector, primarily recorded in the South including Sicily, along small rivers. It was less frequently observed in central Italy, only rarely reported in the North. Between 2022 and 2024, as part of routine investigations on residual anophelism, An. superpictus specimens were collected for the first time in the southern Maremma Plain (Magliano in Toscana, Grosseto, Tuscany).
Adult mosquitoes were collected in animal shelters and tool premises of two farms using traps and manual aspiration methods. Larval sampling was performed by exploring potential breeding sites along the Albegna riverbed. Anophelinae adults and larvae were morphologically identified at the species level, and subsamples were molecularly confirmed by sequencing the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene and the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer 2 region.
A total of 1,106 adult mosquitoes were collected from July to October 2022. Anopheles superpictus was the most abundant species recorded (n = 512; 46%), peaking in August and found in sympatry with An. labranchiae, the main historical malaria vector in Maremma Plain. Anopheles superpictus larvae were found in seven of the twelve investigated sites, with 50 specimens collected (mean density: 0.1-0.2 larvae per dip). Snapshot surveys in September 2023 and 2024 confirmed the stable occurrence of the species in the area.
Anopheles superpictus was consistently recorded in an area where it had not been previously documented. These findings provide new insights into the current presence and distribution of the species in Italy and at the European level, notably including the first recent identification of natural breeding sites. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of residual anophelism surveys in malaria surveillance, supporting the development of targeted control strategies and preparedness plans for potential malaria reintroduction in at-risk regions.
超级嗜人按蚊（塞利按蚊亚属）在地中海盆地国家、东欧和高加索地区的疟疾传播中发挥着重要作用，在这些地区它参与了恶性疟原虫和间日疟原虫的传播。在意大利，该物种在历史上被视为次要的疟疾传播媒介，主要记录于包括西西里岛在内的南部地区的小河流沿岸。在意大利中部较少观察到，在北部则仅有极少的报告。在2022年至2024年期间，作为对残留按蚊情况常规调查的一部分，首次在托斯卡纳大区格罗塞托省马利亚诺的马雷马平原南部采集到了超级嗜人按蚊标本。
使用诱捕器和手动抽吸方法在两个农场的动物庇护所和工具房收集成年蚊子。通过探查阿尔贝尼亚河床沿线的潜在孳生地进行幼虫采样。按蚊亚属的成虫和幼虫在物种水平上进行形态学鉴定，子样本通过对细胞色素c氧化酶亚基1基因和核糖体DNA内部转录间隔区2区域进行测序进行分子确认。
2022年7月至10月共收集到1106只成年蚊子。超级嗜人按蚊是记录到的数量最多的物种（n = 512；46%），8月达到峰值，与马雷马平原主要的历史疟疾传播媒介拉布拉齐按蚊同域分布。在12个调查地点中的7个发现了超级嗜人按蚊幼虫，共采集到50只标本（平均密度：每次蘸取0.1 - 0.2只幼虫）。2023年9月和2024年的快速调查证实了该物种在该地区的稳定存在。
在一个此前未记录过超级嗜人按蚊的地区持续记录到了该物种。这些发现为该物种目前在意大利及欧洲层面的存在和分布提供了新的见解，特别是首次近期确定了其天然孳生地。此外，结果凸显了残留按蚊情况调查在疟疾监测中的重要性，为制定针对高危地区潜在疟疾重新引入的目标控制策略和防范计划提供了支持。
