Mosquito [diptera: culicidae] fauna of Qom province, Iran

There is very little information about the mosquito fauna of Qom Province, central Iran. By now only three species; Anopheles claviger, An. multicolor, and An. Superpictus have been reported in the province. To study mosquito fauna and providing a primary checklist, an investigation was carried out on a collection of mosquitoes in this province. To study the mosquito [Diptera: Culicidae] fauna, larval collections were carried out from different habitats on 19 occasions using the standard dipping technique during spring and summer 2008 and 2009. In total, 371 mosquito larvae were collected and morphologically identified including 14 species representing four genera: Anopheles claviger, An. marteri, An. turkhudi, An. superpictus, Culex arbieeni, Cx. hortensis, Cx. mimeticus, Cx. modestus, Cx. pipiens, Cx. territans, Cx. theileri, Culiseta longiareolata, Cs. subochrea, and Ochlerotatus caspius s.l. All species except for An. Claviger and An. Superpictus were collected for the first time in the province. All larvae were found in natural habitats. The association occasions and percentages of the mosquito larvae in Qom Province were discussed. There are some potential or proven vectors of different human and domesticated animal pathogens in Qom Province. The ecology of these species and the unstudied areas of Qom Province need to be investigated extensively

Larval habitat characteristics of the genus anopheles [diptera: culicidae] and a checklist of mosquitoes in Guilan Province, Northern Iran

Ecological data are important in the vector control management of mosquitoes. There is scattered published information about the larval habitat characteristics and ecology of the genus Anopheles [Diptera: Culicidae] in Iran and most of available data is in relation to malaria vectors in southern Iran. This cross sectional investigation was carried out to study the mosquito fauna and ecology in Guilan Province, northern Iran, during April-December 2000. Larvae were collected using the standard dipping technique. Larval habitat characteristics were recorded according to water situation [clear or turbid], vegetation, substrate type, sunlight situation, habitat situation [transient or permanent, running or stagnant], habitat type [natural or artificial], and water temperature. In total, 1547 third- and fourth-instar larvae of Anopheles from 90 habitats were collected and morphologically identified. Five species; Anopheles claviger, An.'hyrcanus', An. maculipennis s.l., An. plumbeus, and An. superpictus were identified and respectively comprised 6.3%, 22.4%, 54.4%, 13.0%, and 3.9% of the samples. The mean and range temperatures of the larval habitat water were 19.6°C [n=14] [16-25°C], 22.6°C [n=53] [12-33°C], 23.8°C [n=52] [10-33°C], 11.5°C [n=12] [9-21°C], and 20.4°C [n=7] [12-26°C], respectively. There was a significant difference in the mean water temperatures [11.5-23.5°C] of the larval habitats of different species [P=0.000]. Most of the genus larvae were collected from natural habitats [86.9%] such as river bed pools [46.4%] and rain pools [33.1%] with transient [98.3%], stagnant [99.5%] and clear [95.3%] water, with vegetation [69.9%], mud [42.0%] or gravel [39.7%] substrate in full sunlight [69.6%] or shaded [22.7%] area. A checklist of the province mosquitoes including 30 species and seven genera has been provided. The main larval habitats of the most abundant species, An.'hyrcanus' and An. maculipennis s.l, in Guilan Province are: river bed pools, rain pools, and rice fields

Larval habitat characteristics of mosquitoes of the genus culex [Diptera: Culicidae] in Guilan province, Iran

An investigation was carried out during April to December 2000 to study mosquito fauna and ecology in Guilan Province of northern Iran. The mosquito larvae were collected by dipping method and larval habitat characteristics recorded according to hydro-ecological features. In total, 3937 larvae of the genus Culex from 92 larval breeding sites were collected. Six species of the genus Culex; Cx. mimeticus, Cx. pipiens, Cx. theileri, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. hortensis, and Cx. territans were identified in the province and respectively comprised 10.3%, 47.2%, 2.2%, 31%, 6.5%, and 2.8% of the samples. Most of the larvae were collected from the natural habitats [75.6%] such as river edges [6.5%], riverbed pools [28.2%], rain pools [47.8%], stream edges [9.4%], grasslands [1.9%], marshes [2.8%], and hoof-prints [3.4%] and others from artificial habitats [24.4%] including rice fields [32.1%], irrigation channels [7.1%], wells [16.4%], discarded concrete tubes [33.1%], discarded tires [11.0%], and agricultural water-storage pools [0.3%]. The ecology of Cx. pipiens and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, which are the most prevalent species and potentially involved in the transmission of many pathogens to humans and domesticated animals, must be extensively studied

Fauna and checklist of mosquitoes [Diptera: Culicidae] of east Azerbaijan province, northwestern Iran

In order to study the mosquito [Diptera: Culicidae] fauna of East Azerbaijan Province, some samplings were carried out by dipping method for the larvae and hand catch, night biting catch, total catch, and shelter pit collection as well as using window trap for the adults during June, July, and August 2004 plus July and August 2005. In total, 1305 adult mosquitoes and 603 larvae were collected. Seven genera and 15 species were identified in the province including; Anopheles claviger, An. hyrcanus, An. maculipennis s.l., An. pseudopictus, An. sacharovi, An. superpictus, Aedes vexans, Coquillettidia richiardii, Cx. pipiens, Cx. theileri, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Culiseta longiareolata, Cs. subochrea, Ochlerotatus caspius s.l., and Uranotaenia unguiculata. An. maculipennis complex, Cx. pipiens, and Cx. theileri were the most prevalent and widely distributed species. An. pseudopictus, Ae. vexans, and Cq. richiardii are reported for the first time in East Azerbaijan Province and a checklist for the mosquitoes of the province is also presented. Among the mosquitoes of the province, there are many potential vectors of human and domesticated animal pathogens that their ecology needs to be studied extensively

[Review of dirofilariasis in Iran]

Introduction: Dirofilariasis or dirofilariosis is a mosquito [Diptera: Culicidae] borne metazoonotic disease, caused by different species of the nematod genus Dirofilaria [Spirurida: Onchocercidae]. Its reservoirs are mostly canids and it is cosmopolitan. Human dirofilariasis is now classified as an emerging zoonosis

Objective: This article reviewed all previous records and investigations in Iran and the world in relation to dirofilariasis in order to provide a foundation for forthcoming studies

Materials and Methods: From the first report of dirofilariasis in Iran in 1969 up to 2005, all human and animal cases and important data such as: the pathogen and reservoir species, distribution, frequency, and human cases, as retrospective study, were investigated and analyzed. Also, the natural history of parasite, pathogenicity, the disease diagnosis, treatment, and control, and the last status of the disease in the world were briefly mentioned

Results: Two species of the genus Dirofilaria; D. immitis [canine heartworm] and D. repens are found in Iran. By now, nine human cases have been formally reported including four subcutaneous and two ocular cases of D. repens, a rare case of D. immitis in testicular hydrocele, and two pulmonary cases [most probably D. immitis]. As a whole, human and animal dirofilariasis has been recorded in eleven provinces of Iran. The species D. immitis has been reported in East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Ardebil, Tehran, Khorasan, Khuzistan, Fars, Golestan, Mazandaran, and Hormozgan Provinces and D. repens in Tehran, Khorasan, Guilan, and Mazandaran Provinces. Different investigators have reported D. immitis in dogs [with the frequency of 0.95 to 36.8%], jackals [7.5-57.1%], foxes [5.7-50%], wolves [20-50%], and cats [0.8%] and D. repens in dogs [1.4-60.8%] and jackals [10%] in the different areas of the country

Conclusion: Data on dirofilariasis in Iran are to some extent scattered as regard to distribution or other aspects of the disease. More studies need to be done on dirofilariasis in the country, especially in places where no investigation has been carried out. There is no information about the vectors of dirofilariasis in Iran

subfamily Culicinae [Diptera:culicidae] in kerman province southern Iran

There are some arboviral and parasitic diseases which are transmitted by culicine mosquitoes in Iran. Three genera and eleven species of the subfamily Culicinae [Diptera: Culicidae] were collected by dipping method and identified in Kahnooj district, Kerman province, south-eastern Iran, during October and November, 2003 including; Culex [Culex] bitaeniorhynchus, Cx. [Maillotia] deserticola, Cx. [Cux.] laticinctus, Cx. [Cux.] perexiguus, Cx. [Cux.] pipiens, Cx.[Cux.] quin- quefasciatus, Cx.[Cux.] sinaiticus, Cx.[Cux.] theileri, Cx.[Cux.] tritaeniorhynchus, Culiseta [Allotheobaldia] longiareolata, and Uranotaenia [Pseudoficalbia] unguiculata. In this study, Ur.unguiculata was identified in Kerman province for the first time. Fauna and ecology of Culicinae need more investigations in this province