Blood-feeding, susceptibility to infection with Schmallenberg virus and phylogenetics of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the United Kingdom

Barber, James; Harrup, Lara E.; Silk, Rachel; Veronesi, Eva; Gubbins, Simon; Bachanek‐Bankowska, Katarzyna; Carpenter, Simon

doi:10.1186/s13071-018-2650-x

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Although good feeding rates were achieved, the infection rates were significantly lower, due to the fact that smaller amounts of blood were engorged [ 75 ]. We evaluated different combinations of membranes, devices and attractants [ 46 , 76 , 77 ] (own data not shown), and eventually choose to use the feeding device previously described [ 39 ] but with Nescofilm50 MMx 40M as a membrane instead of chicken skin. Thus, feeding rates among field-collected Culicoides up to 52% were observed during the evaluation experiments; they varied between 14 and 27% in the vector competence experiments shown in this paper.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vector competence of pre-alpine Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) for bluetongue virus serotypes 1, 4 and 8

et al. 2018

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BackgroundBluetongue disease, caused by bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8), appeared for the first time in the northern part of Europe in 2006, and subsequently rapidly spread causing severe economic losses to the farming industry. The implicated vectors of BTV in Europe are Culicoides species within the subgenus Avaritia (C. chiopterus, C. dewulfi, C. obsoletus and C. scoticus). Epidemiological data from Switzerland have shown that BTV, whose spread was eliminated at an early stage by vaccination campaigns, had not been circulating among livestock at higher altitudes where other species dominate the Culicoides fauna. In this study, we investigated the extent that Culicoides spp. prevailing at higher altitudes (mainly C. grisescens) can act as vectors for BTV.MethodsCulicoides were collected at farms in the pre-alpine region (two sites at 1550 m above sea level, masl, referred to as pre-alpine I; one site at 2030 masl, pre-alpine II) and, for comparative purposes, from the Swiss Plateau (one site, 650 masl). They were fed on bovine blood/BTV suspensions (BTV-1, 4 or 8) and incubated for eight days under a fluctuating temperature regime (13–25 °C, mean 19 °C), reflecting a mid-summer warm spell in the pre-alpine region. Susceptibility to BTV transmission was assessed from head homogenates by RT-qPCR and virus isolation.ResultsOverall, 9196 female Culicoides were exposed to the three BTV strains through an artificial membrane, with feeding rates of 14–27%. Survival rates of blood-engorged Culicoides females at eight days post-infection depended on both virus serotype and altitude of origin. Virus dissemination (Cq ≤ the cut-off value as determined by serial virus dilutions) was confirmed only for BTV-1 in C. scoticus (dissemination efficiency 22.5%; 9/40) and C. obsoletus (5.6%; 1/18) from the Swiss Plateau area. There was no strong evidence of susceptibility to infection for Culicoides from the pre-alpine area when fed with all BTV strains (BTV-1, 4 and 8).ConclusionsThis study confirms the susceptibility of C. scoticus and C. obsoletus to BTV-1 infection, including under cooler temperatures. Culicoides grisescens, which is highly abundant at higher altitudes, cannot be considered a potential vector under these temperature conditions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-3050-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vector competence of pre-alpine Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) for bluetongue virus serotypes 1, 4 and 8

et al. 2018

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“…The expansion of BTV from the Mediterranean basin to central Europe up to Scandinavia [9][10][11] prompted studies on Culicoides taxonomy [12][13][14], ecology [15][16][17] and vector competence [18][19][20]. In contrast, only few studies focused on the Culicoides fauna in southeastern Europe.…”

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confidence: 99%

Blood-meal analysis of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) reveals a broad host range and new species records for Romania

et al. 2020

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Background: Culicoides biting midges are potential vectors of different pathogens. However, especially for eastern Europe, there is a lack of knowledge on the host-feeding patterns of this vector group. Therefore, this study aimed to identify Culicoides spp. and their vertebrate hosts collected in a wetland ecosystem. Methods: Culicoides spp. were collected weekly from May to August 2017, using Biogents traps with UV light at four sites in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, Romania. Vectors and hosts were identified with a DNA barcoding approach. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 was used to identify Culicoides spp., while vertebrate hosts were determined targeting cytochrome b or 16S rRNA gene fragments. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree was constructed to verify the biting midge identity against other conspecific Palaearctic Culicoides species. A set of unfed midges was used for morphological confirmation of species identification using slide-mounted wings. Results: Barcoding allowed the species identification and detection of corresponding hosts for 1040 (82.3%) of the 1264 analysed specimens. Eight Culicoides spp. were identified with Culicoides griseidorsum, Culicoides puncticollis and Culicoides submaritimus as new species records for Romania. For 39 specimens no similar sequences were found in GenBank. This group of unknown Culicoides showed a divergence of 15.6-16.3% from the closest identified species and clustered in a monophyletic clade, i.e. a novel species or a species without reference sequences in molecular libraries. For all Culicoides spp., nine mammalian and 24 avian species were detected as hosts. With the exception of C. riethi (n = 12), at least one avian host was detected for all Culicoides spp., but this host group only dominated for Culicoides kibunensis and the unknown Culicoides sp.. The most common host group were mammals (n = 993, 87.6% of all identified blood sources) dominated by cattle (n = 817, 70.6%). Conclusions: Most Culicoides spp. showed a broad host-feeding pattern making them potential bridge vectors. At the same time, new records of biting midge species for Romania, as well as a potentially unknown Culicoides species, highlight the lack of knowledge regarding the biting midge species and their genetic diversity in eastern Europe.

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“…This limitation hampers the progress in the assessments of the vector capacity of various other Culicoides species. Instead, field-collected midges have often been used for checking the oral susceptibility and vector competence of ruminant arboviruses (262)(263)(264)(265)(266). Unfortunately, the vector competence of Culicoides biting midges distributed in East Asia is poorly understood.…”

Section: Arthropod Vectors Of Important Ruminant Arbovirusesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endemic and Emerging Arboviruses in Domestic Ruminants in East Asia

2020

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Epizootic congenital abnormalities caused by Akabane, Aino, and Chuzan viruses have damaged the reproduction of domestic ruminants in East Asia for many years. In the past, large outbreaks of febrile illness related to bovine ephemeral fever and Ibaraki viruses severely affected the cattle industry in that region. In recent years, vaccines against these viruses have reduced the occurrence of diseases, although the viruses are still circulating and have occasionally caused sporadic and small-scaled epidemics. Over a long-term monitoring period, many arboviruses other than the above-mentioned viruses have been isolated from cattle and Culicoides biting midges in Japan. Several novel arboviruses that may infect ruminants (e.g., mosquito-and tick-borne arboviruses) were recently reported in mainland China based on extensive surveillance. It is noteworthy that some are suspected of being associated with cattle diseases. Malformed calves exposed to an intrauterine infection with orthobunyaviruses (e.g., Peaton and Shamonda viruses) have been observed. Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus serotype 6 caused a sudden outbreak of hemorrhagic disease in cattle in Japan. Unfortunately, the pathogenicity of many other viruses in ruminants has been uncertain, although these viruses potentially affect livestock production. As global transportation grows, the risk of an accidental incursion of arboviruses is likely to increase in previously non-endemic areas. Global warming will also certainly affect the distribution and active period of vectors, and thus the range of virus spreads will expand to higher-latitude regions. To prevent anticipated damages to the livestock industry, the monitoring system for arboviral circulation and incursion should be strengthened; moreover, the sharing of information and preventive strategies will be essential in East Asia.

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Blood-feeding, susceptibility to infection with Schmallenberg virus and phylogenetics of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the United Kingdom

Cited by 22 publications

References 65 publications

Vector competence of pre-alpine Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) for bluetongue virus serotypes 1, 4 and 8

Vector competence of pre-alpine Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) for bluetongue virus serotypes 1, 4 and 8

Blood-meal analysis of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) reveals a broad host range and new species records for Romania

Endemic and Emerging Arboviruses in Domestic Ruminants in East Asia

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