Phylogeny of () (Diptera: Culicidae) Using Mitochondrial Genes.

Identification of mosquito species is necessary for determining the entomological components of malaria transmission, but it can be difficult in morphologically similar species. DNA sequences are largely used as an additional tool for species recognition, including those that belong to species complexes. mosquitoes are vectors of human and simian malaria in the Neotropical Region, but there are few DNA sequences of species in public databases.

Assessment of asymptomatic Plasmodium spp. infection by detection of parasite DNA in residents of an extra-Amazonian region of Brazil.

Background: The hypotheses put forward to explain the malaria transmission cycle in extra-Amazonian Brazil, an area of very low malaria incidence, are based on either a zoonotic scenario involving simian malaria, or a scenario in which asymptomatic carriers play an important role.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of asymptomatic infection by detecting Plasmodium spp. DNA and its role in residual malaria transmission in a non-Amazonian region of Brazil.

Ecological characterisation and infection of Anophelines (Diptera: Culicidae) of the Atlantic Forest in the southeast of Brazil over a 10 year period: has the behaviour of the autochthonous malaria vector changed?

BACKGROUND In southeastern Brazil, autochthonous cases of malaria can be found near Atlantic Forest fragments. Because the transmission cycle has not been completely clarified, the behaviour of the possible vectors in those regions must be observed. A study concerning the entomological aspects and natural infection of anophelines (Diptera: Culicidae) captured in the municipalities of the mountainous region of Espírito Santo state was performed in 2004 and 2005.

Reassessment of asymptomatic carriers of Plasmodium spp. in an endemic area with a very low incidence of malaria in extra-Amazonian Brazil.

Background: Regions with residual transmission are potential obstacles to the elimination of malaria. It is, therefore, essential to understand the factors associated with the maintenance of endemic malaria in these areas. The objective was to investigate whether the status of asymptomatic carriers of Plasmodium spp.

Mitochondrial genome of Plasmodium vivax/simium detected in an endemic region for malaria in the Atlantic Forest of Espírito Santo state, Brazil: do mosquitoes, simians and humans harbour the same parasite?

Background: The transmission of malaria in the extra-Amazonian regions of Brazil, although interrupted in the 1960s, has persisted to the present time in some areas of dense Atlantic Forest, with reports of cases characterized by particular transmission cycles and clinical presentations. Bromeliad-malaria, as it is named, is particularly frequent in the state of Espírito Santo, with Plasmodium vivax being the parasite commonly recognized as the aetiologic agent of human infections. With regard to the spatial and temporal distances between cases reported in this region, the transmission cycle does not fit the traditional malaria cycle.

Canine visceral leishmaniasis in the metropolitan area of São Paulo: Pintomyia fischeri as potential vector of Leishmania infantum.

American visceral leishmaniasis is a zoonosis caused by Leishmania infantum and transmitted mainly by Lutzomyia longipalpis. However, canine cases have been reported in the absence of this species in the Greater São Paulo region, where Pintomyia fischeri and Migonemyia migonei are the predominant species. This raises the suspicion that they could be acting as vectors.

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.

Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii (Diptera: Culicidae) in peridomiciliary area during asymptomatic malaria transmission in the Atlantic Forest: molecular identification of blood-meal sources indicates humans as primary intermediate hosts.

Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii has been implicated as the primary vector of human and simian malarias out of the Brazilian Amazon and specifically in the Atlantic Forest regions. The presence of asymptomatic human cases, parasite-positive wild monkeys and the similarity between the parasites infecting them support the discussion whether these infections can be considered as a zoonosis. Although many aspects of the biology of An.

Unexpected detection of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum DNA in asymptomatic blood donors: fact or artifact?

A study searching for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum DNA among blood donors from the non-endemic area in Brazil reported a rate of 7.41%. This number is at least three times higher than what has been observed in blood donors from the Amazon, an endemic area concentrating >99% of all malaria cases in Brazil.

Epidemiology of disappearing Plasmodium vivax malaria: a case study in rural Amazonia.

Background: New frontier settlements across the Amazon Basin pose a major challenge for malaria elimination in Brazil. Here we describe the epidemiology of malaria during the early phases of occupation of farming settlements in Remansinho area, Brazilian Amazonia. We examine the relative contribution of low-density and asymptomatic parasitemias to the overall Plasmodium vivax burden over a period of declining transmission and discuss potential hurdles for malaria elimination in Remansinho and similar settings.

Blood meal sources of mosquitoes captured in municipal parks in São Paulo, Brazil.

The aim of this study was to investigate blood meal sources of mosquitoes captured in municipal parks in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, and to identify possible associations between mosquito species and their food preferences. Fourteen species of blood hosts of 510 engorged adult female mosquitoes were identified using PCR assays with a vertebrate-specific primer set based on cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA of the following vertebrates: birds, dogs, cats, rodents, humans, and other primates. Mosquitoes were captured using a manual aspirator, CDC traps in the canopy, CDC traps at ground level, and Shannon traps.

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.

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.

Intragenomic variation in the second internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal DNA of species of the genera Culex and Lutzia (Diptera: Culicidae).

Culex is the largest genus of Culicini and includes vectors of several arboviruses and filarial worms. Many species of Culex are morphologically similar, which makes their identification difficult, particularly when using female specimens. To aid evolutionary studies and species distinction, molecular techniques are often used.

Natural Plasmodium infections in Brazilian wild monkeys: reservoirs for human infections?

Four hundred and forty-eight samples of total blood from wild monkeys living in areas where human autochthonous malaria cases have been reported were screened for the presence of Plasmodium using microscopy and PCR analysis. Samples came from the following distinct ecological areas of Brazil: Atlantic forest (N=140), semideciduous Atlantic forest (N=257) and Cerrado (a savannah-like habitat) (N=51). Thick and thin blood smears of each specimen were examined and Plasmodium infection was screened by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (multiplex PCR).

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.

Natural infection of phlebotomines (Diptera: Psychodidae) in a visceral-leishmaniasis focus in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate natural infection by Leishmania in phlebotomine females in a visceral-leishmaniasis focus in Antonio João county in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. Between June and October 2003, the digestive tracts of 81 females captured in Aldeia Campestre, Aldeia Marangatu and Povoado Campestre were dissected. The females were separated by species, location, area and date of capture into 13 groups and kept in ethanol 70%.

Prevalence and spatial distribution of intestinal parasitic infections in a rural Amazonian settlement, Acre State, Brazil.

A population-based survey of the prevalence and spatial distribution of intestinal parasitism was carried out in an agricultural settlement in the Amazon Basin of Brazil (Granada, Acre State). More than half (53.4%) of the 429 stool specimens from subjects in all age groups, living in 113 households, had cysts, ova, or larvae of intestinal parasites.

[Standardization of conditions for PCR detection of Leishmania spp. DNA in sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae)].

The correct identification of etiological agents in vector insects is crucial for epidemiological studies. Identification of flagellates in such vectors, usually by dissection of the digestive tract and microscopic observation of the contents as well as attempts at parasite isolation from insects in culture media, have proven operationally inadequate and with poor diagnostic specificity, since female sand flies are also hosts for other flagellates like Trypanosoma and Endotrypanum. Due to the efficiency and specificity of DNA target sequence amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the latter could be used to investigate the presence of Leishmania in sand flies, although the insects need to be properly stored and the Leishmania DNA extracted using appropriate methodology.

Malaria epidemiology in low-endemicity areas of the Atlantic Forest in the Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo, Brazil.

We describe a seroepidemiological survey of malaria prevalence in two areas of low endemicity: Intervales State Park and Alto Ribeira State Tourist Park (PETAR). Both are located in the Vale do Ribeira in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. In this study, 318 subjects from both areas had their blood analyzed for the presence of malaria parasites by thin and thick blood smears.

The Acre Project: the epidemiology of malaria and arthropod-borne virus infections in a rural Amazonian population.

The authors describe the baseline malaria prevalence and arbovirus seroprevalence among 467 subjects in an ongoing cohort study in rural Amazonia. Most subjects (72.2%) reported one or more previous episodes of malaria, and 15.

The major salivary gland antigens of Culex quinquefasciatus are D7-related proteins.

The sera of persons with strong allergic responses to the bites of the mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus, contained IgE antibodies reactive with two major salivary gland proteins with molecular weights of 35 and 28 kDa. These antigens were purified, their amino termini sequenced, and the sequences were used to search for similar sequences in public databases. Two cDNAs, CuQu-D7Clu1 and CuQu-D7Clu12, which encode D7-related proteins, were identified as containing predicted amino acid sequences identical to the 35 and 28 kDa antigens, respectively.