SUMMARYGreek military recruits (993) were examined for carriage of meningococci during July 1990. Blood, saliva and throat swab specimens were obtained and each recruit answered a questionnaire providing information on age, education (a measure of socioeconomic level), place of residence, smoking habits and recent infections.The overall carriage rate was 25 % but differed between the two camps: 79/432 (18%) in Camp A and 168/561 (30%) in Camp B (P < 0-0005). In Camp B, there were significantly higher proportions of recruits who were non-secretors (P < 0 0005), and/or heavy smokers (P < 0-0005). They were also younger (< 19 years old) (P < 0-001), and on the whole had fewer years of education (P < 0-0005). By univariate analysis, carriage was significantly associated with smoking. By multiple logistic regression analysis, carriage was associated with smoking (P < 0-001), age (P < 0-01) and the camp in which the recruits were based (P < 0-01). Among recruits in Camp B, 15/38 (40%) of those with recent viral infections were carriers compared with 30 % for the camp in general.

The presence of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) was recently confirmed for the first time in northwestern Greece. This location is within the distribution range of a morphologically similar species, Aedes cretinus Edwards, and is a potentially favorable region for the reintroduction of Aedes aegypti (L.). It was thus compelling to use methods in addition to morphology-based keys to correctly identify specimens badly damaged, rubbed, or otherwise altered in their external characteristics. It was decided to use molecular techniques as a novel and reliable method for differentiating the three Stegomyia species. The nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) fragments from morphologically identified Ae. albopictus and Ae. cretinus specimens were amplified, and their sequences were compared with those in GenBank for Ae. albopictus, Ae. cretinus, and Ae. aegypti. Also, mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) fragments were amplified for Ae. albopictus and Ae. cretinus (so far not available in GenBank) and compared with Ae. aegypti fragments. ITS2 and COI sequences generated in our study were deposited in GenBank and could be useful in future studies of mosquitoes by other research workers.

No abstract

No abstract

Specimens belonging to the Anopheles maculipennis complex were collected as larvae or resting adults from May 2003 to November 2004 in the area of the Athens 2004 Olympic Rowing Centre in Schinias, Attiki, Greece, and identified by morphological and molecular analyses. Of the 201 specimens collected, 199 were found to be Anopheles sacharovi Favre and two were An. maculipennis Meigen s.s. on the basis of similarity to published sequence data for the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene (COI). Sequence data from a number of specimens were obtained for both genes and compared with corresponding GenBank data derived from diverse geographical areas. A high degree of homology in ITS2 sequences was found in both species, ranging from 99.5% to 100% in An. sacharovi and 99.4% to 100% in An. Maculipennis, with no intraspecific variation in either of the two species in our study. The degree of homology in the COI sequences was 94.8-99.8% in An. sacharovi and 95.0-99.8% in An. maculipennis. The 522-bp fragment produced a rather high degree of intrapopulation polymorphism for An. sacharovi, generating nine different haplotypes, five of which were singletons. Intraspecific variation for these sequences ranged from 0.2% to 1.4%, but was much lower (0.77%) for the two An. maculipennis sequences. These findings represent the first characterization of the An. maculipennis complex in the area of Schinias.