Abstract
Biting midges of genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are the vectors of several pathogenic arboviruses and parasites of humans and animals. Several reports have suggested that biting midges might be a potential vector of Leishmania parasites. In this study, we screened for Leishmania and Trypanosoma DNA in biting midges collected from near the home of a leishmaniasis patient in Lamphun province, northern Thailand by using UV-CDC light traps. The identification of biting midge species was based on morphological characters and confirmed using the Cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. The detection of Leishmania and Trypanosoma DNA was performed by amplifying the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) and small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) genes, respectively. All the amplified PCR amplicons were cloned and sequenced. The collected 223 biting midges belonged to seven species (Culicoides mahasarakhamense, C. guttifer, C. innoxius, C. sumatrae, C. huffi, C. oxystoma, and C. palpifer). The dominant species found in this study was C. mahasarakhamense (47.53%). Leishmania martiniquensis DNA was detected in three samples of 106 specimens of C. mahasarakhamense tested indicating a field infection rate of 2.83%, which is comparable to reported rates in local phlebotomines. Moreover, we also detected Trypanosoma sp. DNA in one sample of C. huffi. To our knowledge, this is the first molecular detection of L. martiniquensis in C. mahasarakhamense as well as the first detection of avian Trypanosoma in C. huffi. Blood meal analysis of engorged specimens of C. mahasarakhamense, C. guttifer, and C. huffi revealed that all specimens had fed on avian, however, further studies of the host ranges of Culicoides are needed to gain a better insight of potential vectors of emerging leishmaniasis. Clarification of the vectors of these parasites is also important to provide tools to establish effective disease prevention and control programs in Thailand.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e0010014 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-15 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the Thailand Research Fund through the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Program (grant number PHD/0035/ 2561) to SS., the program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation (grant number B16F630071) to PS., Thailand Science Research Innovation (TSRI) (grant number FRB640001) to PS., Ratchadapisek Sompote Fund, Chulalongkorn University (grant number CU_GR_63_97_30_04) to PS., National Research Council of Thailand: CGEN (grant number N35A640452) to PS., and NIH/NIAID/CREID/07-049-7012-52338 to PS. The partial financial was supported from Research and Development Institute, Ramkhamhaeng University and TSRI fund (RU_64A112000009) to AT. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Sunantaraporn et al.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.