Development and application of species ID and insecticide resistance assays, for monitoring sand fly Leishmania vectors in the Mediterranean basin and in the Middle East.

Background: Development of insecticide resistance (IR) in sand fly populations is an issue of public health concern, threatening leishmaniasis mitigation efforts by insecticide-based vector control. There is a major knowledge gap in the IR status of wild populations worldwide, possibly attributed to the unavailability of specialized tools, such as bioassay protocols, species baseline susceptibility to insecticides and molecular markers, to monitor such phenomena in sand flies.

Methodology/principal Findings: Sand fly populations from (semi-)rural regions of Greece, Turkey and Iran were sampled and identified to species, showing populations' structure in accordance with previously reported data.

Efficacy Of Transfluthrin Varies By Species And Placement In A Warm Temperate Mediterranean Environment1.

Spatial repellents may protect personnel in delimited areas from incursion of vector or nuisance Diptera, such as mosquitoes and sand flies. We investigated the efficacy of resin diffusers impregnated with transfluthrin in protecting 2 simulated military field scenarios (partially opened tents and open bivouacs lacking shelter) from natural populations of Culex species mosquitoes and Phlebotomus species sand flies. Using a benchmark efficacy of 61% expected reduction from a recent literature survey, we found that transfluthrin protected bivouacs from sand flies (74.

Mosquito management strategies in European rice fields: Environmental and public health perspectives.

Rice is a crucial food source and an important economic activity globally. Rice fields provide habitats for birds and other organisms but also serve as ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes, including potential vectors such as Culex, Aedes, and Anopheles. There is an urgent need to manage mosquitoes associated with rice crops, as they are important pests and vectors of diverse pathogens.

Harvesting insect pests for animal feed: potential to capture an unexploited resource.

The demand for animal protein grows as the human population increases. Technological and genetic advances in traditional animal agriculture will not produce enough protein to meet future needs without significant innovations such as the use of insects as protein sources. Insect farming is growing insects, whereas insect harvesting is collecting insects from their natural habitats to produce high-quality protein for animal feed or human food.

Conceptualization, design, and construction of a novel insect mass trapping device: the USDA Biomass Harvest Trap (USDA-BHT).

The use of insects as animal feed has the potential to be a green revolution for animal agriculture as insects are a rich source of high-quality protein. Insect farming must overcome challenges such as product affordability and scalability before it can be widely incorporated as animal feed. An alternative is to harvest insect pests from the environment using mass trapping devices and use them as animal feed.

Mosquitoes harvested from rice fields as alternative protein ingredient in broiler feed: insights from the first pilot study.

Global population continuous growth and increasing consumers' demands for protein-rich diets have posed sustainability challenges for traditional livestock feed sources. Consequently, exploring alternative and sustainable protein sources has become imperative to address the environmental burden and resource limitations associated with conventional ingredients. With respect to food security assurance, insects have emerged as a promising solution due to their exceptional nutritional profile, rapid reproduction rates, and low environmental impact.

West Nile Virus Occurrence and Ecological Niche Modeling in Wild Bird Species and Mosquito Vectors: An Active Surveillance Program in the Peloponnese Region of Greece.

West Nile Virus (WNV) is maintained in nature in a bird-mosquito cycle and human infections follow a seasonal pattern, favored by climatic conditions. Peloponnese Region, located in Southern Greece, initiated an active WNV surveillance program to protect public health during 2019-2020. The project included monitoring of avian hosts and mosquito vectors, while sampling locations were prioritized after consideration of WNV circulation in birds, mosquitos and humans during previous seasons.

VectorMap-GR: A local scale operational management tool for entomological monitoring, to support vector control activities in Greece and the Mediterranean Basin.

Over the past decade, Greece and other Mediterranean countries have witnessed the emergence and resurgence of several vector-borne diseases (VBDs), posing important public health challenges and threatening the tourist industry. An essential prerequisite for the design and execution of efficient and sustainable context-specific VBD control programmes is the establishment of integrative entomological and epidemiological surveillance systems. However, the monitoring and management of surveillance datasets (often chronologically fragmented, scattered in regional health district offices and partially accessible upon requisition), as well as their transformation into actionable information, is a complex undertaking.

Phlebotomus (Adlerius) simici NITZULESCU, 1931: first record in Austria and phylogenetic relationship with other Adlerius species.

Background: Phlebotomine sand flies are the principal vectors of Leishmania spp. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae). Information on sand flies in Central Europe is scarce and, to date, in Austria, only Phlebotomus mascittii has been recorded.

Sand Fly (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) Population Dynamics and Natural Leishmania Infections in Attica Region, Greece.

A 2-yr sand fly (Diptera: Psychodidae) seasonality study was performed in Attica Region, Greece, from June 2017 until November 2018, aiming also to detect the presence of Leishmania infection in the collected sand flies. In total, 701 sand flies were collected from urban areas within the Attica Region using BG-Sentinel traps, set weekly in eight fixed sites. Five species were identified morphologically and molecularly, namely Phlebotomus tobbi (Adler and Theodor), which was most the most commonly collected species, followed by P.

Bioassay and molecular monitoring of insecticide resistance status in Aedes albopictus populations from Greece, to support evidence-based vector control.

Background: Aedes albopictus has a well-established presence in southern European countries, associated with recent disease outbreaks (e.g. chikungunya).

Identification and detection of a novel point mutation in the Chitin Synthase gene of Culex pipiens associated with diflubenzuron resistance.

Background: Diflubenzuron (DFB) is one of the most used insecticides in mosquito larval control including that of Culex pipiens, the proven vector of the recent West Nile Virus epidemics in Europe. Two mutations (I1043L and I1043M) in the chitin synthase (CHS) putative binding site of DFB have been previously reported in Cx. pipiens from Italy and associated with high levels of resistance against this larvicide.

A novel MALDI-TOF MS-based method for blood meal identification in insect vectors: A proof of concept study on phlebotomine sand flies.

Background: Identification of blood sources of hematophagous arthropods is crucial for understanding the transmission cycles of vector-borne diseases. Many different approaches towards host determination were proposed, including precipitin test, ELISA, DNA- and mass spectrometry-based methods; yet all face certain complications and limitations, mostly related to blood degradation. This study presents a novel method for blood meal identification, peptide mass mapping (PMM) analysis of host-specific hemoglobin peptides using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Focal distribution of diflubenzuron resistance mutations in Culex pipiens mosquitoes from Northern Italy.

Insecticide resistance is a major threat for vector control and prevention of mosquito borne diseases. In the Culex pipiens mosquitoes, resistance against diflubenzuron (DFB) was firstly detected in Ravenna (Emilia-Romagna region, Northern Italy), in 2015. The resistant phenotypes were associated with two mutations, I1043 M and I1043 L, at the amino acid 1043 of the chitin synthase gene.

Broadening the tools for studying sand fly breeding habitats: A novel molecular approach for the detection of phlebotomine larval DNA in soil substrates.

Phlebotomine sand flies constitute a group of haematophagous insects of great medical and veterinary importance. Despite the significant knowledge on the biology and behavior of adult sand flies in the wild, there is little information available on the ecology of their larval stages due to difficulties of detecting them in the soil. So far, investigations on sand fly breeding sites have been based on methods to catch emerging adults or on microscopic examination of the soil for the presence of immatures, neither of which is very precise or efficient for studying immatures in the field.

Identification of Leishmania Species in Naturally Infected Sand Flies from Refugee Camps, Greece.

High infection rates of Leishmania donovani and L. tropica were detected in Phlebotomus spp. sand flies collected from refugee camps in Greece, indicating increased risk of infection among local populations.

A Comparative Study of Mosquito and Sand Fly (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) Sampling Using Dry Ice and Chemically Generated Carbon Dioxide From Three Different Prototype CO2 Generators.

A comparative study was conducted to test the efficiency of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light traps baited with either dry ice or carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from one of three different sources in collecting mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Thailand. Treatments consisted of dry ice pellets, CO2 gas produced from one of three prototype CO2 generator systems (TDA, CUBE, Moustiq-Air Med-e-Cell - MEC), and a CDC light trap without a CO2 source. The best performing prototype from Thailand was then tested in collecting sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) in Greece.

Detection of Pyrethroid Resistance Mutations in the Major Leishmaniasis Vector Phlebotomus papatasi.

Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are primary vectors of leishmaniasis. Greece and Turkey are both endemic for visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis and are widely affected by the disease. Measures commonly applied for controlling sand flies rely on the use of insecticides, predominantly pyrethroids.

Ground ultra low volume (ULV) space spray applications for the control of wild sand fly populations (Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) in Europe.

The Phlebotomus sand flies are considered an important vector of both canine and human leishmaniasis. Current measures for sand fly control include mostly indoor interventions, such as residual spraying of dwellings (IRS) to target endophilic sand fly species with very limited number of vector control tools for outdoor interventions against exophilic sand flies. In this study we investigated the efficacy of ground ultra low volume (ULV) space spray applications of a deltamethrin based product against field populations of P.

Ecology of West Nile virus across four European countries: empirical modelling of the Culex pipiens abundance dynamics as a function of weather.

Background: Culex pipiens is the major vector of West Nile virus in Europe, and is causing frequent outbreaks throughout the southern part of the continent. Proper empirical modelling of the population dynamics of this species can help in understanding West Nile virus epidemiology, optimizing vector surveillance and mosquito control efforts. But modelling results may differ from place to place.

Laboratory Evaluation of a Novel Lethal Ovitrap for Control of Aedes aegypti.

Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) are known to flourish in a variety of natural and residential habitats and are competent vectors of at least 22 different arboviruses, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. Their global distribution, anthropophilic nature, and vector competency make them species of interest for control.