Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) midges, the vectors of African horse sickness virus--a host/vector contact study in the Niayes area of Senegal.

Background: African horse sickness (AHS) is an equine disease endemic to Senegal. The African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is transmitted to the mammalian hosts by midges of the Culicoides Latreille genus. During the last epizootic outbreak of AHS in Senegal in 2007, 1,169 horses died from this disease entailing an estimated cost of 1.