Two species of insects are key in the transmission of avian malaria
Two species of insects are key in the transmission of avian malaria
A study led by researchers from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has identified two species of gnats (an insect that feeds on blood like mosquitoes) that play a key role in the transmission of avian malaria. These are two species of the genus Culicoides, commonly called gnats. These results, published in the journal Parasites & Vectors, are essential to understand the epidemiology of malaria in birds and to design new experiments that help to understand the dynamics of the parasites responsible for malaria.
"Malaria is a disease caused by protozoa and widespread among birds that is detected in a large number of species and locations throughout the world. For this reason, avian malaria has become a model system for the investigation of the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of this disease and other similar ones under natural conditions ", explains Jesús Veiga, CSIC researcher at the Arid Zones Experimental Station (Almería) and first signatory of the study.
But, despite the numerous investigations in this regard, some basic aspects of the relationships that exist between the parasites responsible for malaria, their vectors and their avian hosts remain unknown.
Water is essential for the development of the mosquito vectors or hosts of the parasite that causes malaria. However, in the Tabernas Desert we have detected the presence of the parasite in various bird species. The Tabernas Desert is one of the driest places in Europe, with a marked water deficit and in which some species of birds, such as European rattlesnakes, have almost 100% prevalence of avian malaria.
Exemplary of European rattle, species analyzed in the study. (Photo: Radovan Václav)
Therefore, a team of researchers from the Arid Zone Experimental Station in collaboration with the Doñana Biological Station and the Slovak Academy of Sciences, has explored which dipterous species may be involved in the transmission of this disease in wild birds.
"In this work we have identified the two most abundant species of gnats, C. circumscriptus and C. paolae, as well as the parasites responsible for malaria that can be transmitted by these vectors to birds," says Veiga.
"In addition, through the analysis of the blood present in the midges of the gnats, for the first time it has been identified that C. paolae feeds mainly on birds. This species, of practically unknown ecology, is especially interesting because it seems to have an American origin, which would mean that it has expanded throughout the Mediterranean region and because it can become locally more abundant than native species, "concludes Veiga. (Source: Higher Council for Scientific Research)
.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',
'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');
fbq('init', '369524843414444');
fbq('track', 'PageView');
.
SOURCE LINK ERESVIRAL.COM https://www.beviral.online
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario