Filiberto Reyes-Villanueva

• PhD Medical Entomology
• Consultant at National Polytechnic Institute

Background Mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue, Zika and chikungunya, pose significant public health threats in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. To mitigate the impact of these diseases on human health, effective vector surveillance and control strategies are necessary. Traditional vector control methods, which rely on chemi...

We developed a biological control method directed toward Aedes aegypti using the release of Metarhizium anisopliae-contaminated males to spread the fungus to wild females. A generalized Poisson model was used to relate Ae. aegypti marked females (MKF) to M. anisopliae-exposed males (FEM). In a mark-recapture parallel arm trial, FEM release was a be...

Introduction Effective control of Aedes aegypti will reduce the frequency and severity of outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika; however, control programs are increasingly threatened by the rapid development of insecticide resistance. Thus, there is an urgent need for novel vector control tools, such as auto-dissemination of the entomopathogen...

Los mosquitos de la familia Culicidae son insectos del orden Diptera, el cual incluye moscas, tábanos, zancudos o moyotes. Los mosquitos, cuyas hem-bras son la mayoría hematófagas (se alimentan de sangre), son insectos delgados con las patas muy alargadas (razón por la cual reciben el nombre de zancudos), que se reconocen fácilmente por la presenci...

Background The Esperanza Window Trap (EWT) baited with CO2 and human sweat compounds is attractive to Simulium ochraceum s.l., the primary vector of Onchocerca volvulus in the historically largest endemic foci in México and Guatemala. Methodology/Principal findings The ability of the EWT to locally reduce numbers of questing S. ochraceum s.l. was...

Raw data of daily no. of flies caught by a team of human landing collectors in the presence and absence of the traps. (XLSX)

Background Simulium (Boophthora) erythrocephalum (De Geer, 1776) is one of the blackfly species responsible for major public health problems in Europe. Blackfly outbreaks of this species are becoming more frequent, threatening public health in Spain. In the present study, bionomic parameters of S. erythrocephalum in northeastern Spain were estimate...

Simulium (Boophthora) erythrocephalum (De Geer, 1776) is responsible for the majority of black fly nuisance problems in public health in Spain. To carry out an efficient pest-control programme, it is necessary know the bionomics of the species. Based on specimens of S. erythrocephalum collected during May and June 2015 in Zaragoza, Spain, we estima...

Background: Dengue is the most prevalent arboviral disease transmitted by Aedes aegypti worldwide, whose chemical control is difficult, expensive, and of inconsistent efficacy. Releases of Metarhizium anisopliae-exposed Ae. aegypti males to disseminate conidia among female mosquitoes by mating represents a promising biological control approach aga...

Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill. and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin were autodisseminated in the house fly, Musca domestica L., when one, five, and 10 virgin, 3-day old males exposed to 6 × 108 conidia ml-1 per fungus were confined with 30 females of the same age. Fungal treatments with one or five males killed few, with LT50 o...

Aedes albopictus (Skuse) was first recorded in Nigeria in 1991 during a post epidemiological surveillance of yellow fever epidemics in Delta State. In this report, we present a map of the current distribution of Ae. albopictus and its possible epidemiological implications based on accessible records of mosquito fauna in Nigeria using electronic e-j...

To document the diversity and distribution of mosquito species inhabiting the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, collection trips were conducted to all physiographic regions (Grand Northamerican Plains, Coastal Plain of North Gulf, and Sierra Madre Oriental) and subregions across the state. Additionally, we re-examined mosquito specimens in two Mexican e...

Background & objectives: Aedes albopictus has been known as efficient vector of dengue in Asian countries and its wide displacement of Ae. aegypti has been documented in many parts of the world. The present survey was carried out to update the distribution of Ae. albopictus in northeast Mexico and to report the first record of parasitism of mosqui...

Background. Aedes aegypti transmits several important arboviral diseases such as yellow fever and dengue fever. Vectorial control programs aimed to reduce mosquito populations and halting transmission of dengue viruses, have been based on the application of chemical insecticides. The increment of this mosquito-borne disease over the last decades ha...

Human landing collections are currently the standard method for collecting onchocerciasis vectors in Africa and Latin America. As part of the efforts to develop a trap to replace human landing collections for the monitoring and surveillance of onchocerciasis transmission, comprehensive evaluations of several trap types were conducted to assess thei...

Background: Human landing collections are currently the standard method for collecting onchocerciasis vectors in Africa and Latin America. As part of the efforts to develop a trap to replace human landing collections for the monitoring and surveillance of onchocerciasis transmission, comprehensive evaluations of several trap types were conducted to...

Background & objectives: Aedes albopictus has been known as efficient vector of dengue in Asian countries and its wide displacement of Ae. aegypti has been documented in many parts of the world. The present survey was carried out to update the distribution of Ae. albopictus in northeast Mexico and to report the first record of parasitism of mosquit...

Background Resistance to chemical insecticides plus high morbidity rates have lead to rising interest in fungi as candidates for biocontrol agents of mosquito vectors. In most studies fungal infections have been induced by exposure of mosquitoes to various surfaces treated with conidia. In the present study eight Mexican strains of Beauveria bassia...

Background: Aedes aegypti, is the major dengue vector and a worldwide public health threat combated basically by chemical insecticides. In this study, the vectorial competence of Ae. aegypti co-infected with a mildly virulent Metarhizium anisopliae and fed with blood infected with the DENV-2 virus, was examined.

Background Aedes aegypti, is the major dengue vector and a worldwide public health threat combated basically by chemical insecticides. In this study, the vectorial competence of Ae. aegypti co-infected with a mildly virulent Metarhizium anisopliae and fed with blood infected with the DENV-2 virus, was examined. Methodology/Principal Findings The s...

Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. It is a threat for public health worldwide and its primary vector Aedes aegypti is becoming resistant to chemical insecticides. These factors have encouraged studies to evaluate entomopathogenic fungi against the vector. Here we evaluated mortality, infection, insemination and fecundity rat...

Cotesia flavipes is an important gregarious larval endoparasitoid of several crambid stem borers, including Diatraea saccharalis. The suitability of two crambid species, Eoreuma loftini and D. saccharalis, pests of sugarcane and rice in Texas, for C. flavipes development was tested. The effect of parasitization by C. flavipes on encapsulation respo...

Resistance to chemical insecticides plus high morbidity rates have lead to rising interest in fungi as candidates for biocontrol agents of mosquito vectors. In most studies fungal infections have been induced by exposure of mosquitoes to various surfaces treated with conidia. In the present study eight Mexican strains of Beauveria bassiana were ass...

Agricultural ecosystems suffer from chemical contamination with toxic pesticides which have impact on human and animal health. Baculoviruses are being used as biopesticides specifically targeting lepidopteran insects in agriculture and forestry but they have shortages which limit their utility such as a narrow host range and a relatively slow speed...

Dengue virus (DENV) is the arbovirus transmitted to humans most important worldwide. The primary vector is the mosquito Aedes aegypti. To be transmitted, the vector must ingest viremic blood meal which must be deposited in the midgut, infect and replicate in the midgut cells, go through the basal lamina, scatter in the homocele and finally invade t...

This study show a laboratory investigation about infection effects of Metarhizium anisopliae on fecundity and survival in Aedes aegypti females, using Aedes aegypti males as conidia vector. We applied a dose of 6 x 108 conidia/ml on material that served as a mosquito resting site. The life time of the fungus-contaminated females mosquitoes was sign...

Triatoma dimidiata is the vector of Trypanosoma cruzi in the Yucatan Peninsula (YP). Earlier studies have shown that domestic and peri-domestic populations of the vector originated from the sylvan stock and that effectiveness of insecticide-spraying was affected by re-infestations of houses from the sylvan T. dimidiata population. In addition, in t...

Samplings of Aedes aegypti host-seeking females in Monterrey, Mexico, exhibited a 34% of previtellogenic phase in stage I-IIb after engorgement. Failure to reach the vitellogenic phase was present in females with a wing-length range from 1.8 to 3.1 mm. Logistic regression for a binary response (where Y = 1, previtellogenic, and Y = 0, non-previtell...

Some phytochemicals comprise toxic compounds that can be exploited in the control of mosquito larvae. Therefore, larvicidal effect of aqueous extracts of 14 medicinal plants at 0.05% (weight: volume) was evaluated against Aedes aegypti (L.) in Mexico. Bioassays were conducted with early fourth instars submerged in plant infusions to ingest the pote...

Larvae of Culiseta melanura were collected during June 2001 and January 2002 in Nuevo Leon State, Mexico. This is the first record of this species in Mexico. Female and male adults of Aedes sollicitans were collected during May 1992 and June 1994 in Tamaulipas State and Nuevo Leon State, respectively; adult females of Ae. sollicitans were collected...

The entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum Metsch. Sor. (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycetes), was tested under laboratory and field conditions against the Central American locust Schistocerca piceifrons Walker (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Adults of S. piceifrons treated under laboratory conditions with the isolate MaPL40, 1.5 × 103 coni...

El patrón nocturno de alimentación de mosquitos asociado con la dinámica de transmisión de virus en animales domésticos y silvestres en el norte de México no se conoce. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar dicho patrón con el uso de trampa cebada con caballo y humano, en una granja agrícola del área metropolitana de Monterrey, Nuevo León, Méx...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate, using logistic regression, the likelihood of occurrence of a non-gonoactive Aedes aegypti female, previously fed human blood, with relation to body size and collection method. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was conducted in Monterrey, Mexico, between 1994 and 1996. Ten samplings of 60 mosquitoes of Ae aegypti females were...

To estimate, using logistic regression, the likelihood of occurrence of a non-gonoactive Aedes aegypti female, previously fed human blood, with relation to body size and collection method. This study was conducted in Monterrey, Mexico, between 1994 and 1996. Ten samplings of 60 mosquitoes of Ae. aegypti females were carried out in three dengue ende...

To investigate the impact of mass ivermectin treatments in Mexico on Onchocerca volvulus transmission, entomologic surveys were carried out in the two endemic states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. The data suggest that substantial progress towards the goal of elimination has been made. A comparison pre- and post-ivermectin data from a community in Southern...

The susceptibility of Aedes aegypti to Ascogregarina culicis and Aedes albopictus to Ascogregarina taiwanensis was examined with mosquito and parasite strains from Tampa, FL. When each host was bioassayed with its natural gregarine, the infection intensity indicated that Ae. aegypti was 59% more susceptible to A. culicis (87 gamonts/larva) than Ae....

This study compares the use of a mark-recapture analysis and a time-series analysis to estimate the gonotrophic cycle length and survivorship of Simulium metallicum s.l. in southern Mexico. Daily collections were performed with human- and horse-baited traps at 3 sites in a coffee plantation. The mark-recapture and time series experiments on these c...

Monthly samples of biting Simulium ochraceum s.l. Walker were collected before and after ivermectin treatment in southern Mexico and analyzed for Onchocerca volvulus Leuckart infection rates, infection intensity, and the characteristics of larval distribution among parous flies. The variance over mean ratio (VMR) indicated that in all cases this di...

Sand flies were caught from December 1993 to November 1994 in an endemic focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the state of Campeche, Mexico. A total of 566 sand flies of seven species were collected using emergence funnel-traps, at openings of several mammal burrows. The main species collected were Lutzomyia deleoni and Brumptomyia hamata. Populatio...

Human bait catches were carried out from 5 through 27 March 1994 in an endemic focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the state of Campeche, Mexico. Females of Lutzomyia cruciata (Coquillet) were dissected and 67% were parous. The number of total and parous females collected per day was analyzed by time series, but neither the gonotrophic cycle length...

Sandflies attracted by human bait were caught in an endemic focus of localized cutaneous leishmaniasis in the state of Campeche, Mexico. Catches were carried out monthly from February 1994 to January 1995 between 18:00 and 22:00 h. Lutzomyia cruciata was the only species caught. The highest population peak of Lu. cruciata was found in March with le...

The gonotrophic cycle, survivorship, and daily parity rate of Simulium ochraceum were estimated from specimens collected during routine vector surveillance in southern Mexico, using a vertical (time-specific) method. Series of sequential data analysis on parity of the entomological data obtained in February 1994 showed the highest significant (P <...

Of 176 black fly females collected resting at the edge of El Rosario River, 77% were caught in rocky shelters, whereas the others were captured on damp stretches of river bank. Simulium ochraceum predominated in the catches (74%), followed by Simulium metallicum (21%), and Simulium callidum (5%). Percentages of females without blood in their gut we...

Seasonal variation of the populations of the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti, in the city of Monterrey, N.L., Mexico, showed a bimodal pattern. The first peak is lower and appeared at early June, while the second and higher one was observed in the second week of October. 1,419 female mosquitoes were caught in this study. Females with fresh red...

We assessed the transmission potential and the mean infected and infective biting density of S. ochraceum in an onchocerciasis endemic community in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. In addition, the impact of first treatment of ivermectin during the peak of natural infection of host-seeking S. ochraceum populations was also evaluated. Monthly...

The effect of abate (Temephos) applied at the rate of 0.016, 0.020 and 0.025 mg/l on fourth stadium larvae and its effect upon pupae weight, adult weight, ingested blood weight and longevity of Aedes aegypti were investigated. The insecticide was applied on F2 generation larvae that were fed an artificial diet under laboratory conditions, from larv...

Anopheles pseudopunctipennis showed a bimodal daily pattern in flight activity with the largest peak at 2000 h and the smaller one at 0400 h. In the first 10 days as adults, the maximum swarming activity was observed between 2-6 days of age. Also, sexual encounters were registered at the same time interval.

Sublethal concentrations of Abate (temephos) were applied to F2 generation Aedes aegypti larvae, and fecundity and longevity were recorded in the emerged adults. Females exposed to Abate oviposited only in the first 2 gonotrophic cycles, meanwhile control females laid a few eggs after taking the third blood meal. Dosages of 0.009, 0.013 and 0.015 m...

The diurnal pattern and oviposition behavior of Toxorhynchites theobaldi natural populations were studied in 25 artificial containers in the field. The mosquito exhibited a bimodal oviposition pattern with the lower peak at 1100 hr and a mean of 15.7 eggs per container. The higher peak was observed at 1900 hr with a mean of 80.9 eggs per container....

The importance of dengue as a national public health problem is described. The present state of knowledge on the biology and behavior of the vector, the Aedes aeqyp-_i £_1 mosquito is also presented. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between the biology of the vector and the virus transmission mechanisms, and the different types of control cur...

The nightly feeding pattern of mosquitoes, associated to viral transmission dynamics in domestic and wild animals in northern Mexico is still unknown. The aim of this study was to determine such pattern using lured traps with horse and humans in an agri- cultural farm located in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. In this area e...

Printout. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 2001. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-75).