First molecular identification of the vertebrate hosts ofCulicoides imicolainEurope and a review of its blood‐feeding patterns worldwide: implications for the transmission of bluetongue disease andAfrican horse sickness

Abstract

Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are vectors of pathogens that affect wildlife, livestock and, occasionally, humans. Culicoides imicola (Kieffer, 1913) is considered to be the main vector of the pathogens that cause bluetongue disease (BT) and African horse sickness (AHS) in southern Europe. The study of blood-feeding patterns in Culicoides is an essential step towards understanding the epidemiology of these pathogens. Molecular tools that increase the accuracy and sensitivity of traditional methods have been developed to identify the hosts of potential insect vectors. However, to the present group's knowledge, molecular studies that identify the hosts of C. imicola in Europe are lacking. The present study genetically characterizes the barcoding region of C. imicola trapped on farms in southern Spain and identifies its vertebrate hosts in the area. The report also reviews available information on the blood-feeding patterns of C. imicola worldwide. Culicoides imicola from Spain feed on blood of six mammals that include species known to be hosts of the BT and AHS viruses. This study provides evidence of the importance of livestock as sources of bloodmeals for C. imicola and the relevance of this species in the transmission of BT and AHS viruses in Europe.

Bloodmeal analysis in Culicoides midges collected near horses, donkeys and zebras in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

“…Infections with AHSV in dogs that are ascribed to vector transmission have been documented in South Africa, which supports the susceptibility of canids to the virus and suggests that they may play a role in the transmission of AHSV (van Sittert et al, 2013;O'Dell et al, 2018). Slama et al (2015) and Martínez-de la Puente et al (2017) recently reported that C. imicola fed on dogs in Tunisia and Spain, respectively. The present study found a blood-engorged female of C. gulbenkiani that had fed on a domestic dog at a site dominated by horses living in the proximity of a number of domestic dogs bred for hunting.…”

“…() and Martínez‐de la Puente et al . () recently reported that C. imicola fed on dogs in Tunisia and Spain, respectively. The present study found a blood‐engorged female of C. gulbenkiani that had fed on a domestic dog at a site dominated by horses living in the proximity of a number of domestic dogs bred for hunting.…”

“…The frequency of blood feeding of an insect vector on susceptible and non‐susceptible vertebrate hosts will be closely related to pathogen amplification and transmission risk for different vertebrates (Martínez‐de la Puente et al ., , ). Although light traps attract few freshly blood‐engorged females, bloodmeals from at least 11 species collected near equids were analysed.…”

“…Although collectively the Culicoides represent putative vectors, the host ranges of many individual species remain largely unknown. Studies in Europe (Bartsch et al ., ; Cerný et al ., ; Garros et al ., ; Lassen et al ., ; Ninio et al ., ; Martínez‐de la Puente et al ., , ) indicate that biting midges acquire blood from a diverse range of mammals and birds, depending upon the relative numbers and availability of vertebrate hosts.…”

Modeling the global distribution of Culicoides imicola: an Ensemble approach

“…Evidence of the importance of livestock as sources of blood meals for C . imicola is well established 47 . C .…”