ABSTRACT
This report constitutes the first study of Culicoides spp. and their seasonal abundance at Al-Ahsa, the largest oasis in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. New Jersey light traps were used to collect the midges at Mastock farm and Al-Mansura village. The mean monthly abundance was determined from October 1993 to October 1994. The mean monthly number per trap reached its minimum value during January 1994, increasing gradually from February to reach its maximum value during September 1994. During the study period, the following species were collected: Culicoides schultzei group (September), non-spotted group of Culicoides (September), Culicoides imicola (May) and Culicoides newstaedi (March). The potential importance of the Culicoides spp. in relation to arboviral activity in Saudi Arabia is discussed.
Subject(s)
Ceratopogonidae , Insect Vectors , Animals , Arboviruses/isolation & purification , Ceratopogonidae/classification , Ceratopogonidae/virology , Demography , Insect Vectors/classification , Insect Vectors/virology , Rain , Saudi Arabia , Seasons , TemperatureABSTRACT
Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is hyperenzootic in Psammomys obesus in Al-Ahsa oasis in Saudi Arabia: 93% of 202 specimens of this rodent examined had signs of the infection. Leishmania major and L. arabica were isolated from both normal ear skin as well as from ears with slight to severe lesions. L. major was the predominant species and gave rise to characteristic lesions that consisted of swelling, rounding of the edges, hyperpigmentation, ulceration, necrosis and, in advanced cases, sloughing and loss of ear tissue.
