Vectors of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV): species complexes of the vectors.

ABSTRACT

The vectors of JEV are Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. vishnui, Cx. pseudovishnui, Cx. gelidus, Cx. fuscocephala, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. pipiens pallens, Cx. bitaeniorhynchus, Cx. annulirostris, Aedes togoi, Ae. japonicus, Ae. vexans nipponii, Anopheles annularis and An. vagus. Cx. tritaeniorhynchus is in the tritaeniorhynchus complex, breeds in rice fields, ground pools in vast areas. Two types of mating behavior, eurygamy and moderate stenogamy were detected. In the case of the eurygamy type, the mosquitoes were from Southern Thailand and hilly areas near Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Female mosquitoes are usually dark in color, the cibarial armature has rod teeth and the posterior end of the cibarial armature is bowl shaped with a typical rim. The rim of the bowl is everted. The moderate stenogamy type were mosquitoes from the plain areas such as Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Suphan Buri and Saraburi. The posterior end of the cibarial armature is bowl shaped with a stout rim. The larvae were characteristic in their siphon index, antennal index, hair O of prothoracic segment, and comb scale number and arrangement. Cx. tritaeniorhynchus summorosus from Japan, Los Banos and Luzon, Philippines, differed from Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in that on the lateral plate of the phallosome tritaeniorhynchus teeth are somewhat weakly developed and only gently curved whereas in tritaeniorhynchus summorosus they are strongly developed, considerably longer, and sharply recurved. The siphons of larvae are short, the sides parallel and the apex truncate in tritaeniorhynchus whereas in tritaeniorhynchus summorosus they are long and slender. Cx. tritaeniorhynchus var. siamensis is possibly present. Colonies have been maintained in the Department of Medical Entomology for 31 generations. The characteristics are in hair O (short, less than 20 branches, and without secondary branching and the larval siphon (short and broad where the others are long). Cx. vishnui and Cx. pseudovishnui are in the vishnui complex. Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. pipiens pallens are in the Cx. pipiens complex comprising (1) Cx. pipiens; (2) Cx. quinquefasciatus Say; (3) Cx. molestus Forskal; (4) Cx. pipiens pallens; (5) Cx. australicus; (6) Cx. globocoxitus. Anopheles annularis is a species complex evidenced by two types of polytene chromosomes.