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Publications (95)
Coronaviruses have a major impact on human and animal health. The SARS-CoV-2, a beta coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is a clear example. It continues circulating and causes human deaths, and its high replication rate results in numerous variants. Coronaviruses adapt to birds and mammals and constitute a serious threat, and new vi...
Due to the increasing number of human leishmaniasis cases in Murcia, sandflies were sampled and 7.48% of female sandflies tested positive. The majority were Leishmania infantum, but Leishmania adleri was found in one female Sergentomyia minuta. The presence of L. adleri in sandflies raises concerns about zoonotic transmission. Further research is n...
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...
Stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans, stand as formidable pests with a global impact, inflicting significant economic losses on the livestock sector. Larval development occurs in diverse substrates, including decomposing plant material and manure, while emerged adults pose a threat through blood-feeding on both animals and humans. Conventional chemica...
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...
Mosquitoes (Fam. Culicidae), sand flies (Subfam. Phlebotominae), biting midges(Fam. Ceratopogonidae), black flies (Fam. Simuliidae) and stable flies (Fam. Muscidae) are groups of insects capable to transmit pathogens of public health and veterinary importance [...]
Coronaviruses have a major impact on human and animal health. As an example, SARS-CoV-2, a Beta -coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, continues circulating and causing human deaths, and its high replication rate results in numerous variants. Coronaviruses are adapted to birds and mammals and constitute serious threats. They are able t...
The family Simuliidae includes more than 2000 species of black flies worldwide. Their morphological uniformity creates difficulty for species identification, which limits our knowledge of their ecology and vectorial role. We investigated the systematics of black flies in a semi-arid area of the Iberian Peninsula, an ecologically harsh environment f...
Black flies have become in the last decade one of the main emerging pests in Spain. Due to several factors (e.g. modification
of hydrological basins and riverside vegetation, and increase in water quality), nuisances by mammophilic and anthropophilic
species are increasing. In southern Europe, no black fly species has been confirmed as a vector for...
In general, control programmes against black flies are solely based on liquid applications of the larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis
var. israelensis (Bti) on river basins. While several variables could be considered, the general dosage determination is
conducted based on river flow rates and larval densities. Nevertheless, several cryptic variables...
For a better understanding of the transmission cycles of mosquito-borne diseases, it is essential to explore the species composition and population dynamics, mainly during their peak abundance period. These investigations do not normally include peri-urban areas, despite their significant epidemiological interest. To address these gaps, an entomolo...
A dead triatomine bug, Triatoma rubrofasciata, was recorder in eastern Spain (Region of Murcia). This is the first record in continental Europe. The female was identified morphologically and confirmed by barcoding. The possible origin could be China since the bug was found in a wallet shipped from there and the COI nucleotide sequence obtained a 10...
Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors of several diseases of importance for public health, including leishmaniosis, bartonellosis, and sand fly fevers. An entomological survey on blood-feeding
Diptera was conducted in June–November 2020–2021 to know the diversity of insect vectors in Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). Among the vectors collected, Ph...
To propose an integrated pest management solution for the control of the stable
fly: Using a combination of natural enemies to control immature stages and a
specific trapping system for the adults.
Mermithid nematodes are considered a promising biological control agent to reduce the population density of different blood-feeding vectors, i.e. black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae), which are important pests of medical and veterinary interest worldwide. Immature larvae of black flies were collected in a rill from La Rioja (Northern Spain) in the sum...
Los simúlidos o moscas negras son una familia de dípteros en creciente estudio en España, debido a su interés como bioindica¬dores de la calidad del medio acuático y a su impacto médico-veterinario. Su estudio es limitado en las comunidades autónomas que conforman la región cantábrica, y en especial en el País Vasco, donde apenas existen trabajos s...
The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on wildlife is largely unevaluated, and extended surveillance of animal species is needed to reach a consensus on the role of animals in the emergence and maintenance of SARS-CoV-2. This infection has been detected in farmed and domestic animals and wild animals, mainly in captivity. The interactions or shared...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) are well known as annoying biting pests and vectors of disease-causing agents to humans and other animals. Despite their relevance, no studies have been conducted on Hispaniola for decades. Our work aimed to determine the species composition, relative abundance, breeding sites, phylogenetic relationships, and bitin...
Purpose:
Haematophagous Diptera, such as mosquitoes (Culicidae), biting midges (Ceratopogonidae), and black flies (Simuliidae), are important insects for public and animal health due to their capacity to bite and transmit pathogens. Outdoor recreation areas are usually affected by biting species and provide suitable habitats to both adult and imma...
The severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread globally and has led to extremely high mortality rates. In addition to infecting humans, this virus also has infected animals. Experimental studies and natural infections showed that dogs have a low susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, whereas domesticated cats a...
Accurate identification of mosquito species is essential to support programs that involve the study of distribution and mosquito control. Numerous mosquito species are difficult to identify based only on morphological characteristics, due to the morphological similarities in different life stages and large numbers of some species that are members o...
En 2016 se estableció un sistema anual de vigilancia entomológica para la detección de Aedes albopictus en la comunidad autónoma de La Rioja. En el verano de 2020, se detectó por primera vez la presencia de huevos en una zona urbana, lo que constituye el primer registro de esta especie en la región. La identificación de este mosquito invasor supone...
Background
Active surveillance aimed at the early detection of invasive mosquito species is usually focused on seaports and airports as points of entry, and along road networks as dispersion paths. In a number of cases, however, the first detections of colonizing populations are made by citizens, either because the species has already moved beyond...
Background
The feeding behavior of bloodsucking insects determines the transmission, distribution, host spectrum and evolution of blood parasites in the wild. Conventional wisdom suggests that some vector groups (e.g. black flies, family Simuliidae) are consistently exophagous daytime biters. We aimed to understand more about the exceptions to this...
Several outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases have taken place in Europe in recent years. In Spain, both active and passive surveillance have demonstrated that dengue and West Nile viruses are currently circulating,
and seven autochthonous dengue cases have been reported in the last 2 yr. The effectiveness of vector control programs largely depends...
The polytene chromosomes and larvae of two species of black flies, Simulium gandakiense new species and S. magnacentrum new species, are described from the Himalaya Mountains of Nepal. Twenty-three chromosomal rearrangements were discovered in the two species, of which eight are shared. The species differ by four fixed inversions and by having uniq...
Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are regarded as annoying biting pests and vectors of disease-causing agents to humans and other vertebrates worldwide. Factors that affect their distribution and host choice are not well understood. Here, we assessed the species abundance, community composition, and feeding patterns of mosquitoes in an urban-to-wild...
Pets from COVID‐19 owners were screened for SARS‐CoV‐2 (April‐May 2020). From 23 pets, an asymptomatic cat showed positive RT‐qPCRs results from oropharyngeal swab (negative rectal swab). Remaining pets were negative. This suggests that cats can contract the virus from their infected owners and may act as potential hosts for SARS‐CoV‐2. Their role...
The pandemic of Zika virus in 2016 and other arboviruses prompted La Rioja Government in Spain to implement an entomological surveillance program of mosquitoes (Diptera; Culicidae) in the region of La Rioja. The morphological identification was supported by genetic analysis using the COI (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) and the ITS2 (internal trans...
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...
Background: Animals and people in many Spanish regions are increasingly being affected by blackfly bites in the last decade. Because of blackflies, the city of Zaragoza has become in recent years a paradigm of discomfort in Europe, with thousands of citizens affected. The OMI-AP system (Stacks, Barcelona, Spain) implemented by the Government of Ara...
During April-May 2020, the presence of respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in pets living with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) owners was analyzed. From 23 pets, a cat without clinical symptoms showed positive results for SARS-CoV-2 in oropharyngeal swab using three RT-qPCR assays (negative rectal swab). SARS-CoV-2 was not detected...
Background
A number of mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue virus (DENV), Usutu virus (USUV), West Nile virus (WNV) are autochthonously transmitted in Europe and six invasive mosquito species have been detected in this temperate region. This has increased the risk for the emergence of further mosquito-borne diseases. However, there is a paucity of...
A gynandromorph is an imago combining well-defined male and female structures, caused by different processes, and it is infrequent in wild-caught mosquitoes. A Culex pipiens gynandromorph was caught in La Grajera wetland (La Rioja, Spain) in 2016. The phenotypic sex of wings was determined using linear discriminating analysis and the training error...
Muchas especies de mosca negra (Diptera, Simuliidae) son causantes de picaduras en humanos y en ganado, con importantes consecuencias desde el punto de vista médico y veterinario, principalmente cuando son vectores de diferentes enfermedades infecciosas.
En este trabajo hemos abordado la importancia que tienen los macrófitos acuáticos presentes en...
In mainland Europe, the mosquito species Culex modestus Ficalbi (1890) is a bridge vector for West Nile virus (WNV) from its natural bird‐mosquito cycle to mammals. The present study assessed the genetic diversity of Cx. modestus, as well as related Culex species, using the mitochondrial COI DNA barcoding region and compared this with the populatio...
To document and update the mosquito species of Tabasco, Mexico, field collection trips were conducted in the two physiographic regions of Tabasco: the coastal plain of the southern gulf and the mountains of Chiapas and Guatemala. Mosquitoes were collected as immature and adult stages during the dry and rainy seasons from 2014 through 2015. Addition...
Mosquitoes are important to public and animal health due to their capacity to transmit diseases. Since the Zika virus was declared a pandemic by the WHO in 2016, and it has been recorded in different regions of Mediterranean Area (included Spain), the Government of La Rioja (Northern Spain) through the Center of Rickettsiosis and Arthropod-Borne Di...
Correct mosquito species identification is essential for mosquito and disease control programs. However, this is complicated by the difficulties in morphologically identifying some mosquito species. In this study, variation of a partial sequence of the cytochrome c oxidase unit I (COI) gene was used for the molecular identification of British mosqu...
Background: Aedes japonicus is an invasive vector mosquito from Southeast Asia which has been spreading across
central Europe since the year 2000. Unlike the Asian Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) present in Spain since 2004,
there has been no record of Ae. japonicus in the country until now.
Results: Here, we report the first detection of Ae. jap...
Simulium erythrocephalum (De Geer, 1776) es una especie altamente antropofílica responsable de brotes de mosca negra en España. Así, se realizaron observaciones sobre el comportamiento de apareamiento de S. erythrocephalum en condiciones naturales en España, incluyendo la formación de enjambres, el reconocimiento, abordaje y la finalización de la c...
Different aspects related to globalization together with the great capacity of the arthropod vectors to adapt to a changing world favour the emergence and reemergence of numerous infectious diseases transmitted by them. Diptera (mosquitoes and sandflies), ticks, fleas and lice, among others, cause a wide spectrum of diseases with relevance in publi...
Background:
Blackflies have negative impact on public and animal health due to the haematophagous habit of females. In recent times, in some regions in Spain, blackfly outbreaks are becoming more and more frequent, threatening the public health. However, there is still a paucity of data concerning the Spanish blackfly fauna. Correct identification...
Different aspects related to globalization together with the great capacity of the arthropod vectors to adapt to a changing world favour the emergence and reemergence of numerous infectious diseases transmitted by them. Diptera (mosquitoes and sandflies), ticks, fleas and lice, among others, cause a wide spectrum of diseases with relevance in publi...
Cryptic speciation is frequent in the medically important mosquitoes. While most findings have been reported in tropical regions, it is an unexplored topic in countries where mosquito-borne diseases are not endemic, like Spain. The occurrence of recent outbreaks in Europe has increased the awareness on the native and invasive mosquito fauna present...
Citizen science and biodiversity: first record of Aedes
(Fredwardsius) vittatus (Bigot, 1861) (Diptera, Culicidae) in Galicia,
by the means of the Mosquito Alert platform
We present here the first record of Aedes (Fredwardsius) vittatus
(Bigot, 1861) in the autonomous region of Galicia, obtained by the
means of the citizen science project Mosquito...
ABSTRACT
Entomological surveillance is a very useful tool to know the transmission
risk of arthropod vector-borne diseases as well as being a basic pillar
in the vision “One Health”. In this paper, the first mosquito (Diptera, Culicidae) surveillance study with carbon dioxide-baited traps in a wetland from
La Rioja is reported. The sampling perform...
Historically, no black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) nuisance has been reported in the Murcia Region. Back in September 2016 the Ojós City Council has contacted the Regional Public Health General Directorate for help regarding a local insect nuisance, most probably based on mosquitoes. After sampling with a BG-sentinel 2 trap, collecting adult specimen...
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...
Recently it has been shown that the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) could be an appropriate reservoir of Leishmania infantum in Spain. The main vector of Leishmaniasis in Spain is Phlebotomus perniciosus. This species feeds on wild rabbit and can easily become infested. Indeed, studies of blood meal preferences show strong evidence that rabbits...
Mathematical modelling is a powerful tool that allows simulating different scenarios, and it can be useful to develop different strategies for eradication and disease control. This kind of tools have advantages and disadvantages, it is really difficult to build a model that accurately represents the real world, because the algorithm can be so compl...
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...
Certain black flies are of medical concern because they transmit pathogens of medical or veterinary importance. However, their taxonomy is very difficult because of their morphological homogeneity. In the present study, the utility of a partial sequence of the COI gene, the DNA barcoding region, as an aid for species identification of Spanish Simul...
Olfaction is essential in the life of blood-feeding insects to guarantee survival and successful reproduction. Many aspects of those insects behaviour, including host location or oviposition are mediated by detection of odorants released by their specific host. The mechanism by which Simulium spp (Diptera, Simuliidae) females select and choose thei...
A la vista de los datos del proyecto de ciencia ciudadana AtrapaelTigre, se consideró oportuno realizar un estudio de campo en la ciudad de Huesca (Aragón, España), resultando en el primer registro de mosquito tigre para esta ciudad y comunidad autónoma.
In the light of data from the AtrapaelTigre project, a survey was conducted in the city of Hues...
Ten years have gone by since the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus was recorded for the first time in Spain. In this paper, all relevant published information about this vector in Spain for the period 2004–2014 is reviewed. The known distribution for 2014 is provided, including all historical records (published and unpublished data) and the res...
Fig. 1: map and table of sampled municipalities showing the number of placed ovitraps in every municipality.
Updated distribution of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Spain: new findings in the mainland Spanish Levante, 2013. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 09/2014; 109(6).
Fig. 2: map of sampled municipalities showing positive and negatives ones for Aedes albopictus presence. Table of positive municipalities. The municipality of Real de Gandía (blue arrow) is coloured as positive following Bueno-Marí et al. (2013).
Updated distribution of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Spain: new findings in the mainland Sp...
Blackfly populations in Spain have experienced a growing expansion in recent years, which has led to a significant increase in nuisances and caused serious impact on life quality in areas where these insects have become a real pest (Ruiz-Arrondo et al., 2014).
Blackfly populations in Spain have experienced a growing expansion in recent years, which has led to a significant increase in nuisances and caused serious impact on life quality in areas where these insects have become a real pest (Ruiz-Arrondo et al., 2014).
The project " Entomological surveillance at airports and ports against imported vectors of exotic infectious diseases and surveillance of potential indigenous vectors of such diseases'' (supported by the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equity of Spain) began in 2008 and includes the search of the range of Aedes albopictus in Spain, but it d...
After the recent detection of Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) in
Southwestern France, the entomological surveillance in the Basque
Country, since 2013, has found two positive traps in Irun
(Guipuzkoa). The differences in environmental conditions, which
could influence its establishment, between this area and the Spa-
nish Levante populations are dis...
A partir de los datos proporcionados por los ciudadanos sobre la posible presencia de mosquito tigre a través de la innovadora apli-cación Tigatrapp del proyecto AtrapaelTigre.com, se ratifica la presencia de esta especie invasora en el municipio de Alhaurín de la Torre (Málaga). Este trabajo representa la primera cita del vector potencial Aedes al...