Presencia larval de Culex (Culex) interrogator (Dyar and Knab) (Diptera: Culicidae) en Cuba / Larval presence of Culex (Culex) interrogator (Dyar and Knab) (Diptera: Culicidae) in Cuba

Actualmente se conocen más de 3 500 especies de mosquitos y cada día se registran otras de importancia en la transmisión de enfermedades al hombre y los animales. El objetivo de este trabajo es registrar por primera vez la presencia larval de Cx interrogator en la provincia de Santiago de Cuba y en Cuba. Para ello se realizaron los muestreos larvarios en sitios de cría naturales y artificiales con frecuencia semanal durante el 2013-2017, según lo establecido por el Programa de Vigilancia y Control de otros culícidos para la provincia de Santiago de Cuba y adjunto al Programa de Control de Aedes aegypti y Aedes albopictus en Cuba. Las larvas se enviaron al Laboratorio Provincial de Entomología de Santiago de Cuba para su clasificación utilizando claves morfológicas. Posteriormente el material biológico fue enviado al Laboratorio de Referencia Nacional del Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pedro Kourí donde se verificó la identificación taxonómica. Culex interrogator fue colectado en los municipios Palma Soriano y San Luis en el 2013 en Santiago de Cuba, y Songo la Maya y II Frente en 2015 y 2017, respectivamente, todos pertenecientes a la provincia Santiago de Cuba. Los sitios de cría correspondieron a fosas sépticas, sótanos inundados debajo de edificios, lagunas de oxidación, pomos plásticos, zanjas, charcos y cañadas. Se encontró asociado en sitios de cría naturales con Culex nigripalpus, Culex quinquefasciatus y Anopheles albimanus. En conclusión, Cx interrogator constituye un nuevo registro para la entomofauna cubana, de ahí la importancia de ampliar los conocimientos sobre su distribución, asociación con otras especies de culícidos y posible rol en la transmisión de enfermedades al hombre(AU)

Nowadays there are more than 3 500 known species of mosquitoes and everyday are registered some more of importance in disease transmission to men and animals every day. The aim of this study is to register for the first time larval presence of Cx. interrogator in Santiago de Cuba province and in Cuba. In this regard, larval sampling was carried out by the established Surveillance and Control Program of other mosquitoes in Santiago de Cuba province and attached to the Control Program of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Cuba; its was carried out in natural and artificial breeding sites with weekly frequency during 2013-2017. The larvae were sent to the Provincial Laboratory of Enthomology of Santiago de Cuba for classification using morphological keys. Subsequently, the biological material was sent to the National Reference Laboratory of Pedro Kourí Institute where the taxonomic identification was verified. Culex interrogator was collected in Palma Soriano and San Luis municipalities in 2013, in Santiago de Cuba, and Songo la Maya and II Frente in 2015 and 2017, respectively, all belonging to Santiago de Cuba province. The breeding sites were septic tanks, flooded basements under buildings, oxidation ponds, plastic bottles, ditches, puddles and streams. This mosquito was found in natural breeding sites associated to Culex nigripalpus, Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles albimanus. As a conclusion, it can be said that Cx. interrogator constitutes a new registry for Cuban entomofauna, hence the importance of expanding knowledge about its distribution, association with other culicid´s species and its possible role in the transmission of diseases to man(AU)

Caracterização da resposta imunológica de Aedes aegypti e Culex quinquefasciatus à infecção pelo sorotipo 1 do Dengue vírus / Characterization of immune response of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus to infection by Dengue virus serotype 1

Os insetos podem atuar como pragas agrícolas e vetores de patógenos causadores de doenças ao homem e outros animais. Investigações a respeito do sistema imunológico de Ae. aegypti e Cx. quinquefasciatus poderão contribuir para o desenvolvimento de métodos de controle das doenças veiculadas por estes insetos, principalmente a dengue, enfermidade causadora de sério problema de saúde pública no mundo. Apesar de Ae. aegypti ser a única espécie vetora confirmada na transmissão do vírus Dengue no Brasil, considera-se também importante um melhor entendimento dos mecanismos imunológicos de Cx. quinquefasciatus tido como refratário ao vírus. Neste estudo foram utilizadas linhagens de Ae. aegypti e Cx. quinquefasciatus mantidas no Insetário do Departamento de Entomologia do CPqAM/FIOCRUZ. Três grupos experimentais de fêmeas com 10 dias de idade foram formados para cada espécie. Grupo I, composto por fêmeas alimentadas com solução sacarose (10 por cento); grupo II, fêmeas alimentadas com sangue limpo e grupo III, fêmeas alimentadas com sangue infectado com o sorotipo DENV-1. De cada grupo foram obtidos hemolinfa, glândula salivar, intestino médio e corpo gorduroso para avaliação da expressão dos antimicrobianos defensina e transferrina. Essa avaliação foi realizada através de PCR em Tempo Real utilizando o kit QuantiFast SYBR Green - One-Step qRT-PCR. A avaliação da hemodinâmica foi realizada utilizando 10 microlitros de hemolinfa de cada grupo, através da contagem das células em câmara de Neubauer...

Antigen distribution pattern of Japanese encephalitis virus in Culex tritaeniorhynchus, C. vishnui & C. pseudovishnui.

Distribution of Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus antigen in different tissues of mosquitoes was studied in three species viz., Culex tritaeniorhynchus, C. Vishnui and C. pseudovishnui. Overall per cent positivity was higher in the intrathoracically infected as compared to the orally infected mosquitoes, suggesting the existence of a midgut barrier. The cells at the junction of the foregut-midgut, and midgut-hindgut showed intense fluorescence from the second day post feeding onwards. This suggests that the dissemination of virus takes place from these regions of the gut. A small number of salivary glands were found negative even though fluorescence was seen in the respective head squashes, suggesting involvement of the salivary gland barrier in these mosquitoes. Though there was no difference in the salivary gland positivity between these three species, the salivary gland area positivity was high in C. tritaeniorhynchus mosquitoes. Presence of virus antigen in the ovaries and developing eggs of these three species on the third day suggests the possibility of transovarial transmission of virus even in the first gonotrophic cycle which may have epidemiological importance.

Persistence of hepatitis B viral antigens in Culex quinquefasciatus.

Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes were fed on or inoculated with blood or serum positive for hepatitis B viral antigens and pools of mosquitoes were tested by radioimmunoassay daily for 3 weeks after exposure to detect the viral antigens. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was detectable up to 3 weeks, while hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) persisted only for 3 days in mosquitoes after feeding on hepatitis B viral antigens-positive blood. Mosquitoes inoculated with serum were HBsAg-positive for 3 weeks and HBeAg positive for 4 days after inoculation. These results suggest that biological multiplication of hepatitis B virus did not occur in these mosquitoes. The possibility of mechanical transmission of hepatitis B antigens by mosquitoes is discussed.