Characterization of insect-specific Culex flavivirus (Flaviviridae) nucleotide sequences in mosquitoes from urban parks in São Paulo, Brazil.

Background: Despite their worldwide occurrence, the distribution and role of insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFs) remain unclear.

Methods: We evaluated the presence of ISFs in mosquitoes collected in São Paulo, Brazil, using reverse transcription and semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Some of the positive samples were subjected to nanopore sequencing.

Mosquitoes of the Caatinga: 2. Species from periodic sampling of bromeliads and tree holes in a dry Brazilian forest.

The Caatinga is a dry tropical forest, located in the Brazilian semiarid region and rich in phytotelmata. This study investigated the culicid fauna of phytotelmata of the caatinga by sampling for 19 consecutive months aquatic immatures from tree holes and bromeliads. A total of 127L of water was taken from the plants, containing 6764 immature culicids of 16 species, of which 11 (69%) are undescribed and respond to 90% of the total abundance of the specimens collected.

Mosquitoes of the Caatinga: 1. Adults stage survey and the emerge of seven news species endemic of a dry tropical forest in Brazil.

The Caatinga is the least known Brazilian biome in terms of the diversity of Culicidae. No systematic study of the diversity or ecology of the mosquitoes of this biome is available, despite the importance of vector diseases in Brazil. The present study addressed the mosquito biodiversity in the Caatinga biome by sampling adult populations.

Assessment of the correlation between wing size and body weight in captive Culex quinquefasciatus.

Introduction: Mass production of mosquitoes under laboratory conditions allows implementing methods to control vector mosquitoes. Colony development depends on mosquito size and weight. Body size can be estimated from its correlation with wing size, whereas weight is more difficult to determine.

Detection of Culex flavivirus and Aedes flavivirus nucleotide sequences in mosquitoes from parks in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

The dengue viruses are widespread in Brazil and are a major public health concern. Other flaviviruses also cause diseases in humans, although on a smaller scale. The city of São Paulo is in a highly urbanized area with few green spaces apart from its parks, which are used for recreation and where potential vertebrate hosts and mosquito vectors of pathogenic Flavivirus species can be found.

Immature mosquitoes in bamboo internodes in municipal parks, city of são paulo, Brazil.

We conducted an inventory of the mosquito fauna of the internodes of bamboo plants grown in municipal parks in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. During October 2010 to July 2013, a total of 8,541 immature stages belonging to 21 mosquito species were collected from bamboos over 61 municipal parks. Of these, Aedes albopictus was the most abundant species followed by Ae.

Comparative study of distribution of anopheline vectors (Diptera: Culicidae) in areas with and without malaria transmission in the highlands of an extra-Amazonian region in Brazil.

This study compares the distribution of anopheline mosquitoes in a malaria-endemic municipality (MAL) and a malaria-free municipality (FREE) in an area of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Simultaneous quarterly nightly captures were made in three locations in each municipality. One Shannon light trap (Shannon light traps were home made according to specifications published in Am.

Natural infection in anopheline species and its implications for autochthonous malaria in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil.

Background: A descriptive study was carried out in an area of the Atlantic Forest with autochthonous malaria in the Parelheiros subdistrict on the periphery of the municipality of São Paulo to identify anopheline fauna and anophelines naturally infected with Plasmodium as well as to discuss their role in this peculiar epidemiological context.

Methods: Entomological captures were made from May 2009 to April 2011 using Shannon traps and automatic CDC traps in four areas chosen for their different patterns of human presence and incidences of malaria (anthropic zone 1, anthropic zone 2, transition zone and sylvatic zone). Natural Plasmodium infection was detected by nested PCR based on amplification of the 18S rRNA gene.

Mosquitoes in degraded and preserved areas of the Atlantic Forest and potential for vector-borne disease risk in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil.

In order to assess the epidemiological potential of the Culicidae species in remaining areas of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, specimens of this family were collected in wild and anthropic environments. A total of 9,403 adult mosquitoes was collected from May, 2009 to June, 2010. The most prevalent among species collected in the wild environment were Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii, the Melanoconion section of Culex (Melanoconion), and Aedes serratus, while the most common in the anthropic site were Coquillettidia chrysonotum/albifera, Culex (Culex) Coronator group, and An.

Brazilian mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) fauna: I. Anopheles species from Porto Velho, Rondônia state, western Amazon, Brazil.

This study contributes to knowledge of Anopheles species, including vectors of Plasmodium from the western Brazilian Amazon in Porto Velho, Rondônia State. The sampling area has undergone substantial environmental changes as a consequence of agricultural and hydroelectric projects, which have caused intensive deforestation and favored habitats for some mosquito species. The purpose of this study was to diagnose the occurrence of anopheline species from collections in three locations along an electric-power transmission line.

Malaria outside the Amazon region: natural Plasmodium infection in anophelines collected near an indigenous village in the Vale do Rio Branco, Itanhaém, SP, Brazil.

A few cases of Plasmodium vivax malaria in which anophelines of subgenus Kerteszia were incriminated as vectors have been reported outside the Amazon region, in the Atlantic Forest. This study was carried out near an indigenous Guarani village in the Curucutu reserve, an environmental protection area in the municipality of Itanhaém in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, on November 30, 2009, February 18, 2010, April 29, 2010 and May 26, 2010. Mosquitoes were collected along the route to the Guarani village where the edge of the Branco river floodplain meets the forests on the mountain slopes.

Effects of Artificial Flooding for Hydroelectric Development on the Population of Mansonia humeralis (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Paraná River, São Paulo, Brazil.

The closure of two phases of the dam at the Porto Primavera Hydroelectric Plant on the Paraná River flooded a flawed system located in the Municipality of Presidente Epitácio, São Paulo state, favoring the proliferation of aquatic weeds. This study aimed to observe the population of Mansonia humeralis in the area, monitoring the richness, diversity, and dominance of this species both before and during different phases of reservoir flooding as well as evaluate its possible consequences concerning human and animal contact. Adult mosquitoes were collected monthly in the following periods: at the original level, after the first flood, and after the maximum level had been reached between 1997 and 2002.

Effects of flooding of the River Paraná on the temporal activity of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) darlingi Root (Diptera: Culicidae), at the border state of Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo, Brazil.

Introduction: Study of the temporal activity of malaria vectors during the implantation of a hydroelectric power station on the River Paraná, intended to generate electrical energy. The river separates the States of São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul, in Brazil. The objective was to verify whether alterations occurred in the wealth and diversity indices of Anopheles, following two successive floods, extended to the temporal activity and nycthemeral rhythm followed over a five year period.

[Ecology of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) darlingi Root in the installation area of a hydroelectric scheme on the border between the States of Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo].

Introduction: Hydroelectric schemes modify the water flow and cause an impact on mosquito composition, thus justifying investigations. The aim of this study was to study anophelines in the area under the influence of a new lake and to evaluate their relative vulnerability to malaria.

Methods: Anopheles specimens were collected from the edges of the Porto Primavera reservoir, during the phases of reservoir filling until its maximum level was reached.

The effects of the experimental infection from a focus of transmission of Schistosoma mansoni in a population of Biomphalaria tenagophila (D'Orbigny, 1835) in the region of "Vale do Ribeira de Iguape", Brazil.

To observe the effects of the parasitic infection on the biology of B. tenagophila, field and laboratory populations of this mollusk from Itariri, in Vale do Ribeira, Brazil, were experimentally infected. Each mollusk received 10 miracidia of Schistosoma mansoni (SJ lineage) and was observed throughout the parasite's development.

[Autochthonous malaria notified in the State of São Paulo: clinical and epidemiological characteristics from 1980 to 2007].

Introduction: Autochthonous malaria in the State of São Paulo is characterized by sporadic outbreaks in the western region and by persistent transmission in the eastern region, where oligosymptomatic cases with low parasitemia due to Plasmodium vivax occur. The objectives of this study were to assess the completeness of autochthonous malaria notification forms; to estimate the incidence trends of autochthonous cases in the State of São Paulo from 1980 to 2007; and to analyze the clinical and epidemiological patterns of cases in two autochthonous regions over this period.

Methods: This was a descriptive study that analyzed 18 variables on the notification form for malaria in the State of São Paulo, comparing these two regions over two periods (1980-1993 and 1994-2007).

[First epidemiological description of visceral leishmaniasis in Campo Grande, State of Mato Grosso do Sul].

An epidemiological study was conducted on cases of visceral leishmaniasis that were notified in Campo Grande between 2001 and 2006, using data from the Brazilian information system for notifiable diseases (Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação, SINAN). In 2001, 577 cases were notified, giving an incidence of 1.47 cases/100,000.

Control of vector populations using genetically modified mosquitoes.

The ineffectiveness of current strategies for chemical control of mosquito vectors raises the need for developing novel approaches. Thus, we carried out a literature review of strategies for genetic control of mosquito populations based on the sterile insect technique. One of these strategies consists of releasing radiation-sterilized males into the population; another, of integrating a dominant lethal gene under the control of a specific promoter into immature females.

Entomological characterization and natural infection of anophelines in an area of the Atlantic Forest with autochthonous malaria cases in mountainous region of Espírito Santo State, Brazil.

Autochthonous malaria cases in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, are distributed in mountainous regions surrounded by the Atlantic Forest. While some aspects of this disease are unclear, detection of possible vector species can help to elucidate epidemiological uncertainties. Entomological and natural infection studies were carried out using anophelines (Diptera: Culicidae) captured in the municipality of Santa Tereza, ES.

Epidemiological and ecological aspects related to malaria in the area of influence of the lake at Porto Primavera dam, in western São Paulo State, Brazil.

A study was carried out in the area of influence of the Porto Primavera Hydroelectric Power Station, in western São Paulo State, to investigate ecological and epidemiological aspects of malaria in the area and monitor the profile of the anopheline populations following the environmental changes brought about by the construction of the lake. Mosquitoes captured were analyzed by standardized indicator species analysis (ISA) before and during different flooding phases (253 m and 257 m elevations). The local human population was studied by means of parasitological (thin/thick blood smears), molecular (PCR) and serological tests.

First record of Anopheles (Anopheles) costai Fonseca & Ramos, 1939 in Espírito Santo State, Brazil.

Field collections of immatures and adults of Culicidae were carried out in the Rio Doce Valley, Espírito Santo State, aiming to increase knowledge on the anopheline species of that region. Considering all Culicidae species collected, among other anopheline it is noteworthy the presence of Anopheles darlingi, An. oswaldoi and An.

Kerteszia subgenus of Anopheles associated with the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest:current knowledge and future challenges.

Background: The Atlantic rainforest ecosystem, where bromeliads are abundant, provides an excellent environment for Kerteszia species, because these anophelines use the axils of those plants as larval habitat. Anopheles (K.) cruzii and Anopheles (K.

[Richness and abundance of Culicidae (Diptera) in an area impacted, Mato Grosso do Sul, Midwestern Brazil].

The damming of Paraná River for the construction of Porto Primavera Hydroelectric Power Plant, between the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, Midwestern Brazil and São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, has changed the ecological relationships in the area. The objective of the study was to describe the fauna that can be potential vectors in this reservoir, 2 km away from its right bank, in Bataguassu, Mato Grosso do Sul, before flooding. Mosquitoes were monthly captured in different environments from July 1997 to November 1999.