The Biting Midge Culicoides sonorensis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) Is Capable of Developing Late Stage Infections of Leishmania enriettii
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| Authors: | Veronika Seblova Jovana Sadlova Barbora Vojtkova Jan Votypka Simon Carpenter Paul Andrew Bates Petr Volf |
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| Affiliation: | 1 Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, ; 2 Vector-borne Viral Diseases Programme, The Pirbright Institute, Pirbright, Surrey, United Kingdom, ; 3 Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, School of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom, ; Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UNITED KINGDOM, |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundDespite their importance in animal and human health, the epidemiology of species of the Leishmania enriettii complex remains poorly understood, including the identity of their biological vectors. Biting midges of the genus Forcipomyia (Lasiohelea) have been implicated in the transmission of a member of the L. enriettii complex in Australia, but the far larger and more widespread genus Culicoides has not been investigated for the potential to include vectors to date.Conclusions/SignificanceWe demonstrate that L. enriettii can develop late stage infections in the biting midge Culicoides sonorensis. This midge was found to be susceptible to L. enriettii to a similar degree as Lutzomyia longipalpis, the vector of Leishmania infantum in South America. Our results support the hypothesis that some biting midges could be natural vectors of the L. enriettii complex because of their vector competence, although not Culicoides sonorensis itself, which is not sympatric, and midges should be assessed in the field while searching for vectors of related Leishmania species including L. martiniquensis and "L. siamensis". |
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