Xenomonitoring of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) for the Presence of Filarioid Helminths in Eastern Austria.

Information on mosquito-borne filarioid helminths in Austria is scarce, but recent discoveries of indicate autochthonous distribution of this parasite in Eastern Austria. In the current xenomonitoring study, more than 48,000 mosquitoes were collected in Eastern Austria between 2013 and 2015, using different sampling techniques and storage conditions, and were analysed in pools with molecular tools for the presence of filarioid helminth DNA. Overall, DNA of , , and two unknown filarioid helminths were documented in twenty mosquito pools within the mitochondrial gene (barcode region).

Trypanosomatid parasites in Austrian mosquitoes.

Trypanosomatid flagellates have not been studied in Austria in any detail. In this study, specific nested PCR, targeted on the ribosomal small subunit, was used to determine the occurrence and diversity of trypanosomatids in wild-caught mosquitoes sampled across Eastern Austria in the years 2014-2015. We collected a total of 29,975 mosquitoes of 19 species divided in 1680 pools.

Avian Plasmodium in Eastern Austrian mosquitoes.

Background: Insect vectors, namely mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), are compulsory for malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.) to complete their life cycle. Despite this, little is known about vector competence of different mosquito species for the transmission of avian malaria parasites.