Daniel Bravo-Barriga

Daniel Bravo-Barriga
University of Cordoba (Spain) | UCO · Department of Animal Health

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary entomologist . Experience in parasitology, applied entomology, and arthropod-borne diseases.

About

75
Publications
26,652
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476
Citations
Additional affiliations
October 2017 - April 2023
Universidad de Extremadura
Position
  • PhD Research
October 2012 - November 2016
Universidad de Extremadura
Position
  • PhD Student

Publications

Publications (75)
Article
Full-text available
Vector-borne diseases pose significant challenges to public health, with mosquitoes acting as crucial vectors for pathogens globally. This study explores the interaction between environmental and climate factors, investigating their influence on the abundance and species composition of mosquitoes in southwestern Spain, a region endemic to several m...
Article
Full-text available
The mosquito microbiome significantly influences vector competence, including in Aedes albopictus, a globally invasive vector. Describing the microbiome and Wolbachia strains of Ae. albopictus from different regions can guide area-specific control strategies. Mosquito samples from Spain and São Tomé were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and...
Article
Full-text available
Background Culicoides midges have been well-studied in Spain, particularly over the last 20 years, mainly because of their role as vectors of arboviral diseases that affect livestock. Most studies on Culicoides are conducted using suction light traps in farmed environments, but studies employing alternative trapping techniques or focusing on natura...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background. Culicoides midges have been well-studied in Spain, particularly over the last 20 years, mainly because of their role as vectors of arboviral diseases that affect livestock. Most studies on Culicoidesare conducted using suction light traps in farmed environments, but studies employing alternative trapping techniques or focusing on natura...
Article
Full-text available
Background: West Nile Virus (WNV) is a zoonotic arbovirus worldwide spread. Seasonal WNV outbreaks occur in the Mediterranean basin since the late 1990’s with ever-increasing incidence. In Southern Spain WNV is endemic, as disease foci - caused by WNV lineage 1 (WNV-L1) strains - occur every year. On the contrary, WNV-L2 is the dominant lineage in...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Blood parasites pose a significant threat to livestock production in southern Egypt, yet there is a scarcity of information regarding their circulation and epidemiology in sheep in this region. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of blood parasite infections in sheep in Assiut governorate, Upper Egypt. Methods A total o...
Article
Full-text available
Canine leishmaniosis, caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum, is a cosmopolitan vector-borne zoonosis, transmitted principally by Phlebotomus perniciosus in Spain and Portugal, where it is considered an endemic disease. Ecoinformatics tools such as ecological niche models (ENM) have been successfully tested to model the distribution o...
Article
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Malaria remains one of the most important infectious diseases globally due to its high incidence and mortality rates. The influx of infected cases from endemic to non-endemic malaria regions like Europe has resulted in a public health concern over sporadic local outbreaks. This is facilitated by the continued presence of competent Anopheles vectors...
Article
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Adult brachycera biting flies can significantly impact livestock through both direct effects (reduction of food intake, disturbance, painful bites, and blood loss) and indirect effects (pathogen transmission), leading to substantial economic losses and production damage. This study aimed to assess the presence of blood-sucking flies in six mixed-an...
Preprint
Full-text available
The mosquito microbiome significantly influences vector competence, including in Aedes albopictus , a globally invasive ectoparasite. Describing the microbiome and Wolbachia strains of Ae. albopictus from different regions can guide area-specific control strategies. Mosquito samples from Spain and São Tomé were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequenci...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Haemonchus spp. are considered the most important strongylid nematodes with a worldwide distribution. The parasite’s blood-sucking nature can lead to severe anemia in infected animals. Despite its widespread impact, there is a dearth of comprehensive data on morphological and molecular identification methods for Haemonchus spp. in shee...
Article
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Detection of a new avian bornavirus in barn owl (Tyto alba) by pan-viral microarray, Veterinary Microbiology, (2023) Abstract: A barn owl (Tyto alba) died with neurological signs compatible with a viral infection. After discarding other possible infections caused by circulating viruses in the area, analysis of the central nervous system using a pan...
Article
Background: Vector-borne diseases like West Nile virus (WNV) pose a global health challenge, with rising incidence and distribution. Culex mosquitoes are crucial WNV vectors. Avian species composition and bird community diversity, along with vector communities, influence WNV transmission patterns. However, limited knowledge exists on their impact i...
Article
Full-text available
Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) are the principal vectors of Leishmania spp. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae). In Central Europe, Phlebotomus mascittii is the predominant species, but largely understudied. To better understand factors driving its current distribution, we infer patterns of genetic diversity by testing for signals...
Article
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Bakground: Vector-borne diseases affecting humans, wildlife and livestock have significantly increased their incidence and distribution in the last decades. Because the interaction among vectors-parasite-vertebrate hosts plays a key role driving vector-borne disease transmission, the analyses of the diversity and structure of vector-parasite networ...
Article
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Jejenes del género Culicoides: responsables del brote de la Enfermedad Hemorrágica Epizoótica en el sureste español. Los minúsculos Culicoides, conocidos popularmente como jejenes, son los responsables del brote de la Enfermedad Hemorrágica Epizoótica, que actualmente afecta al suroeste español. Mikel Alexander González y Daniel Bravo-Barriga nos e...
Article
Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are vectors of pathogens that affect wildlife and livestock. Understanding the composition and distribution of vector species is crucial for implementing control strategies and preventing the spread of infectious diseases. This study provides a morphological and molecular characterisation of Culic...
Article
Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are small bloodsucking flies that act as vectors for various pathogens of medical and veterinary importance. This study aimed to examine, using a comprehensive approach, the controversial taxonomic status of 2 Culicoides species that are currently distributed in the Neotropical (Culicoides jamaice...
Article
Full-text available
Vector-borne diseases result from the transmission of pathogens, including bacteria, parasites or viruses, by different hematophagous insects such as mosquitoes, phlebotomine sandflies, black flies, ticks, fleas, lice and triatomines, among others [...]
Article
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Usutu virus (USUV) is an emerging zoonotic arbovirus that has caused an increasing number of animal and human cases in Europe in recent years. Understanding the vector species and avian hosts involved in the USUV enzootic cycle in an area of active circulation is vital to anticipate potential outbreaks. Mosquitoes were captured in 2020, while wild...
Article
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Background Colonization of large part of Europe by the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is causing autochthonous transmission of chikungunya and dengue exotic arboviruses. While pyrethroids are recommended only to reduce/limit transmission, they are widely implemented to reduce biting nuisance and to control agricultural pests, increasing the...
Article
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Animal sanctuaries are important organisations that promote animal welfare and health as well as social awareness. Following the appearance of several donkeys with severe and distinctive skin lesions in a sanctuary from western Spain in 2021, a multicomponent study was performed to rule out the possible causes. The lesions were mainly concentrated...
Article
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Haematophagous insects cause major economic losses by both direct damage and the transmission of pathogens. However, the biting Diptera species in the Caribbean region have been poorly documented. During 2021, CDC downdraft suction traps with UV light were employed to assess both the species occurrence and blood meal sources across three different...
Article
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Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are the natural vectors of Leishmania spp. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) and phleboviruses (Bunyavirales: Phenuiviridae). In Spain, these vectors appear to be increasing their geographical distribution and have serious repercussions on public and veterinary health, encouraging studies of sand flie...
Article
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Human and animal vector-borne diseases, particularly mosquito-borne diseases, are emerging or re-emerging worldwide. Six Aedes invasive mosquito (AIM) species were introduced to Europe since the 1970s: Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Ae. japonicus, Ae. koreicus, Ae. atropalpus and Ae. triseriatus. Here, we report the results of AIMSurv2020, the firs...
Article
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The Mosquito Alert dataset includes occurrence records of adult mosquitoes collected worldwide in 2014–2020 through Mosquito Alert, a citizen science system for investigating and managing disease-carrying mosquitoes. Records are linked to citizen science-submitted photographs and validated by entomologists to determine the presence of five targeted...
Article
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Endurance is an increasingly popular equestrian sport. However, in southern Europe, there is a high prevalence of horses that are asymptomatic carriers of equine piroplasmosis (EP), a tick-borne disease that could affect their performance. This study aimed to evaluate the impact and influence of EP on the performance of endurance horses. Blood samp...
Article
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We explore the presence of zoonotic flaviviruses (West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV)) neutralizing antibodies in rarely studied passerine bird species. We report, for the first time in Europe, WNV-specific antibodies in red avadavat and cetti’s warbler, and USUV in yellow-crowned bishop. The evidence of WNV and USUV circulating in residen...
Article
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Tabanids (Diptera: Tabanidae) are large haematophagous flies that cause both direct (by biting nuisance) and indirect (primarily by mechanical transmission of diseases) damage to host species. Research studies on this family have received little attention in some parts of Europe. Our aims were to characterise the species richness, abundance, and pe...
Article
Spirocerca lupi infection in dogs (Canis domesticus) is associated with esophageal lesions that may evolve to a neoplastic stage in the form of esophageal sarcoma. In the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) infected with the closely related Spirocerca vulpis, similar lesions may occur in the stomach, but neoplastic forms have not been reported. We characterize...
Article
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Lachryphagous males of Phortica variegata (Fallén, 1823) are gaining increasing attention in Europe, as they act as vectors of the nematode Thelazia callipaeda Railliet & Henry, 1910, causal agent of thelaziosis, an emergent zoonotic disease. Currently, there are no effective control strategies against the vector, and surveillance and monitoring re...
Article
Since 1997, fledgling Scops owls (Chordata: Strigidae) have been brought to the Brinzal Owl Rescue Centre (Madrid, Spain) with severe lesions in their oral cavities. Lesions consist of the presence of proliferative necrotic material in the oral cavity resulting in white plaques, which can lead to death by starvation. This disease has been detected...
Article
An important element of vector control and surveillance of mosquito-borne diseases is updated information on vector species distribution. The aim of this study was to collect available information about mosquito species reported in Extremadura between 1920 and 2020 and create a catalog that would combine both published data and our recent field ide...
Article
Phlebotomus (Transphlebotomus) mascittii Grassi, 1908 (Diptera: Psychodidae) has been found in several European countries. In Spain, sporadic records were reported in the early '80s in Catalonia (Northeast Spain), and it was never detected again. Recent entomological surveys carried out between 2004 and 2020 revealed the presence of several specime...
Article
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The detection of three Gongylonema sp. infective larvae in two specimens of the dung beetle Geotrupes mutator (Marsham, 1802) from western Spain is reported here for the first time in Europe. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the analyzed specimens belong to the genus Gongylonema, but it was not possible to determine the species identity...
Article
Full-text available
West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging flavivirus transmitted generally by mosquitoes of Culex genus. It is maintained in an enzootic life cycle where birds act as reservoir hosts. Humans and horses are also susceptible to infection, and occasionally, they suffer from neurological complications. However, they do not transmit the virus to other vector...
Article
Full-text available
West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito‐borne emerging virus in Europe with capacity to cause neurological complications such as encephalitis or meningoencephalitis in humans, birds or equids. In Spain, WNV is actively circulating in mosquitoes, birds and horses in different regions, but never has been deeply studied in Extremadura. Therefore, the aim...
Article
Changes in environmental conditions, whether related or not to human activities, are continuously modifying the geographic distribution of vectors, which in turn affects the dynamics and distribution of vector-borne infectious diseases. Determining the main ecological drivers of vector distribution and how predicted changes in these drivers may alt...
Article
Full-text available
The main aim of this study was to not only establish the prevalence of the recently described Spirocerca vulpis parasite in the wild-life cycle of carnivores in western Spain but to also elaborate a model to explain the risk of infestation based on 16 topo-climatic and habitat variables. During the period from June 2016 to November 2017, 1644 carca...
Article
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A study was performed to evaluate the implication of Protophormia terraenovae larvae as a surgical therapy for wounded skin. Three groups of sheep (n = 25) were considered based on larval doses. Groups 1 and 2 were artificially infested with low and high concentrations of L1 stage P. terraenovae, respectively, and group 0 served as a control. Skin...
Chapter
This manual gathers with great clarity the essential information on the main infectious and parasitic diseases that affect cattle, sheep and goats in Europe and Latin America. It is a practical consultation tool, whose objective is to help achieve a rapid diagnosis and to implement the most effective control measures in this type of process.
Chapter
This manual gathers with great clarity the essential information on the main infectious and parasitic diseases that affect cattle, sheep and goats in Europe and Latin America. It is a practical consultation tool, whose objective is to help achieve a rapid diagnosis and to implement the most effective control measures in this type of process.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
La fiebre del Nilo occidental es una arbovirosis transmitida por mosquitos, fundamentalmente de la familia Culicidae. El presente estudio está enfocado en conocer la posible circulación de este virus en Extremadura. Durante 2018, se colocaron trampas de mosquitos (tipo CDC y BG-Sentinel) y se analizaron 134 aves, procedentes de dos centros de recup...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Aedes albopictus, el mosquito tigre, es una amenaza importante para la salud pública, por su capacidad de transmisión de patógenos causantes de enfermedades como el dengue, chikungunya y Zika. En Europa, está extendido a 26 países, incluida la Península Ibérica, con varios registros desde 2004 en territorio español. Durante el periodo 2017-2018,...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
El “mosquito tigre”, Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus, es una especie invasora de enorme importancia para la salud pública, al ser un vector competente de enfermedades como el chikungunya, dengue y Zika. En la Península Ibérica, su presencia se detectó por primera vez en 2004, en San Cugat del Vallés (Barcelona), y desde entonces se ha extendido amplia...
Article
The large diversity of new tick-borne phleboviruses, and the negative impacts of the virulent viruses on human/animal health have led to a growing interest in their analysis. In this report, new insights are brought out into the diversity of putative phleboviruses circulating in Portugal (both the continental territory and the islands of São Miguel...
Article
Full-text available
Aedes albopictus is a mosquito of Asian origin and of enormous importance in public health for acting as a vector of viruses such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Since 2004, when it was detected for the first time in Spain, it has colonized a large part of the Iberian Peninsula, especially along the Mediterranean coast. In April 2018, a research p...
Article
Full-text available
Diversos factores ambientales como el cambio climático y la globalización están contribuyendo a la epidemiología cambiante de enfermedades vectoriales. La actual propagación de estas enfermedades en todo el mundo es realmente preocupante, aunque no inesperada, ya que pueden imponer amenazas imprevistas para la salud humana y animal
Article
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Las enfermedades emergentes trasmitidas por artrópodos representan una amenaza creciente para la salud humana y animal, poniendo también en situación de riesgo la seguridad alimentaria. Es inevitable que muchos países sufran brotes de enfermedades en las próximas décadas, demandando un incremento de medios eficaces de control. El aumento de las pob...
Article
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Populations: A total of 1,495 mosquitoes of 16 species was collected during 2012-2013, of which Cx. pipiens s.l. and Cx. theileri were the most abundant. Five new records for An. maculipennis s.s., Orthopodomyia pulcripalpis, Aedes (Ochlerotatus) punctor, Cx. europaeus, and Cx. modestus were found for this region. Cx. pipiens density varied across...
Article
Full-text available
Background Culex univittatus and Culex perexiguus mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are competent arbovirus vectors, but with unclear morphological differentiation. In Europe, and in the Iberian Peninsula in particular, the presence of either or both species is controversial. However, in order to conduct adequate surveillance for arboviruses in this...
Article
Leishmaniosis caused by Leishmania infantum is present in Mediterranean countries, with high prevalence in areas of the center and south of Spain. However, in some regions such as Extremadura (in southwest of Spain), data has not been updated since 1997. The aim of this work was (i) to provide information about the distribution of phlebotomine sand...
Article
Dirofilaria immitis is one of the most frequently detected mosquito-transmitted zoonotic filarioid nematode in mammals in Europe, being canine dirofilariosis a major animal health problem, endemic in the Mediterranean area. This study, focused on Southwest Spain, in order to bring new insights into (i) the epidemiology of Dirofilaria spp., (ii) the...
Article
Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) are vectors of multiple Leishmania species, among which Leishmania infantum stands out as a being frequently pathogenic to humans and dogs in Mediterranean countries. In this study, Sergentomyia minuta sand flies were collected using CDC miniature light traps in different 431 biotopes from Southwest Sp...
Article
Full-text available
Diagnosis of major parasitic diseases in pig production This article made a brief tour of the main parasitic diseases that affect pigs in our country, making special mention of those who by their frequency and their pathogenicity to produce greater losses in pig farms. Among the various parasitosis which can hold the pig, are reasons such four of t...
Article
Full-text available
Production costs due to disease in a farm can become significant enough to make that livestock farm economically unfeasible. Some of these are parasitic diseases, that often go unnoticed because they usually result in low mortality rates. However, whose influence on production is well established and proven. In this article a general revision to th...
Article
Full-text available
PARASITOSIS GENERALIDADES DEL PROCESO PARASITARIO L a enfermedad como tal es típica en corderos, espe-cialmente hasta los 3-4 meses de vida, si bien el parasi-tismo, es decir la presencia de coccidios sin producir enferme-dad es muy frecuente en anima-les adultos. En ellos, el estado de premunidad que se establece propicia una escasa intensidad de...