Potential Mosquito Vectors of Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaira repens (Spirurida: Onchocercidae) in Aras Valley, Turkey

Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy, 1856) and Dirofilaria repens (Railliet & Henry, 1911) are mosquito-borne filarial nematodes that primarily affect dogs, causing heartworm disease and subcutaneous dirofilariosis. The canine heartworm is reported in different provinces in Turkey. However, studies about...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of medical entomology 2021-03, Vol.58 (2), p.906-912
Main Authors: Demirci, Berna, Bedir, Hilal, Tasci, Gencay Taskin, Vatansever, Zati
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abdomen
Anopheles
Aquatic insects
Aras Valley
Coronary artery disease
Culicidae
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Diptera
Dirofilaria immitis
Dirofilariosis
Disease transmission
DNA
Heart diseases
infection rate
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
mosquito
Mosquitoes
Nematoda
Nematodes
Polymerase chain reaction
Species
Thorax
Valleys
VECTOR/PATHOGEN/HOST INTERACTION, TRANSMISSION
Vectors
Villages
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Summary:Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy, 1856) and Dirofilaria repens (Railliet & Henry, 1911) are mosquito-borne filarial nematodes that primarily affect dogs, causing heartworm disease and subcutaneous dirofilariosis. The canine heartworm is reported in different provinces in Turkey. However, studies about the transmitting mosquito species are limited. Hence, this study aimed to investigate potential vectors of D. immitis and D. repens in Aras Valley, Turkey. In total, 17,995 female mosquitoes were collected from eight villages during three mosquito seasons (2012–2014) in Aras Valley, located in north-eastern Turkey. A total of 1,054 DNA pools (527 abdomen and 527 head-thorax) were tested with Dirofilaria primers by multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Aedes caspius was the most abundant species in collection sites with 90%; this was followed by Culex theileri Theobald, 1903 (Diptera: Culicidae) (7.31%), Anopheles maculipennis Meigen 1818 (Diptera: Culicidae) (1.28%), Culex pipiens Linnaeus, 1758 (Diptera: Culicidae) (0.43%), (Anopheles) hyrcanus (Pallas, 1771) (Diptera: Culicidae) (0.37%), Aedes vexans (Meigen, 1830) (Diptera: Culicidae) (0.25%), and Culiseta annulata Schrank, 1776 (Diptera:Culicidae) (0.02%). Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens were detected in mosquito pools from five villages. The total Dirofilaria spp. estimated infection rate was 1.33%. The highest estimated infection rate was found in Ae. vexans (6.66%) and the lowest was in Ae. caspius (1.26%). The results show that An. maculipennis sl, Ae. caspius, Ae. vexans, Cx. theileri and Cx. pipiens are potential vectors of D. immitis and D. repens with DNA in head-thorax pools; An. hyrcanus is also a likely vector, but Dirofilaria DNA was found only in abdomen pools for the study area. This study revealed new potential vector species for D. immitis. Mosquitoes with natural infections of D. repens were reported for the first time in Turkey. Graphical Abstract
ISSN:0022-2585
1938-2928
DOI:10.1093/jme/tjaa233