Post-epidemic Occurrence of Bluetongue Virus Vectors (Culicoides Species) în Iași County
Abstract
Culicoides is a genus of biting midges in the family Ceratopogonidae, representing a big threat, giving that several species serve as biological vectors of pathogens of veterinary importance. BTV distribution and persistence is thought to be almost entirely dependent upon the presence or absence of Culicoides adults vector. In this study, biting midges were collected during 2015-2016, once a week, from April to December. In the first year, 2617 BTV vector specimens were collected and identified as Culicoides obsoletus (41.2%; 95% CI: 39-43), Culicoides pulicaris (58%; 95% CI: 56-59) and Culicoides nubeculosus (0.8%; 95% CI: 0.4-1.1). In the second year, 165 BTV vector specimens were collected and identified as Culicoides obsoletus (44.25%; 95% CI: 36-51), Culicoides pulicaris (50.3%; 95% CI: 42-57), Culicoides dewulfi (4.84%; 95% CI: 1.5-8.1) and Culicoides nubeculosus (0.61%; 95% CI: 0.5-1.7). Culicoides pulicaris and Culicoides obsoletus complex were especially abundant within the two collection sites in Iași County. Our data on post-epidemic occurrence and composition of BTV vector species in the studied area will facilitate a better understanding of Culicoides vectors distribution and the possible role in bluetongue virus overwintering.a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
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