296 research outputs found
¿Son las aves infectadas por malaria más atractivas para los mosquitos vectores?
According to the host manipulation hypothesis, parasites modify the hosts’ phenotype
to maximise their transmission success. Avian malaria parasites and related haemosporidians are vectorborne
parasites infecting birds worldwide. Recent studies have reported a greater attraction of mosquitoes to infected birds, supporting the host manipulation hypothesis. Changes in the composition of the
uropygial gland secretion of birds associated with infections have been proposed as the potential
mechanisms explaining this pattern. Here we critically review the published information on the host
manipulation hypothesis in the context of avian malaria infections. We focus this article on the suggested
role of the secretions of the uropygial gland and bird odours as mosquito attractants. The role
of uropygial gland secretions as attractants of mosquitoes was poorly supported by available literature.
In contrast, changes in the odour profile of infected birds or a reduction in the anti-mosquito behaviour
of infected individuals may explain the parasite-mediated effects on mosquito attraction and biting
rates. Finally, we propose future research approaches to identify the role of parasite infections on the
interaction between birds and insect vectors.Según la hipótesis de manipulación del hospedador, los parásitos modifican el fenotipo
del hospedador para maximizar su éxito de transmisión. Los parásitos de la malaria aviar y los hemosporidios
relacionados son parásitos transmitidos por vectores que infectan a las aves de todo el mundo.
Estudios recientes han encontrado apoyo para una mayor atracción de mosquitos hacia las aves
infectadas, lo que respalda la hipótesis de la manipulación del hospedador. Cambios en la composición
de la secreción de la glándula uropigial de las aves asociados a las infecciones se han propuesto como
un posible mecanismo para explicar este patrón. AquÃ, revisamos crÃticamente la información publicada
sobre la hipótesis de la manipulación del hospedador en el contexto de las infecciones por malaria aviar.
Centramos este artÃculo en el papel sugerido de las secreciones de la glándula uropigial y los olores de
las aves como atrayentes de mosquitos. El papel de las secreciones de la glándula uropigial como atrayentes
de mosquitos tuvo poco apoyo en la literatura. Por el contrario, los cambios en el perfil de olor
de las aves infectadas o una reducción del comportamiento antimosquitos de los individuos infectados
pueden explicar los efectos mediados por parásitos en la atracción de mosquitos y las tasas de picadura.
Finalmente, proponemos perspectivas de investigación futuras para identificar el papel de las infecciones
parasitarias en la interacción entre las aves y los insectos vectores.Spanish Government CGL2015-65055-P
PGC 2018-095704-B-I00European Commission CGL2015-65055-P
PGC 2018-095704-B-I002017 Leonardo Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators, of the BBVA FoundationSevero-Ochoa grant from the Spanish ministry of Economy and Competitiveness SVP-2014-06857
Editorial: Factors Affecting Host Selection by Mosquitoes: Implications for the Transmission of Vector-Borne Pathogens
Project PGC2018-
095704-B-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and
Competition and from the European Regional Development
Fund (FEDER
A One Health view of the West Nile virus outbreak in Andalusia (Spain) in 2020
Reports of West Nile virus (WNV) associated disease in humans were scarce in Spain until summer 2020, when 77 cases were reported, eight fatal. Most cases occurred next to the Guadalquivir River in the Sevillian villages of Puebla del RÃo and Coria del RÃo. Detection of WNV disease in humans was preceded by a large increase in the abundance of Culex perexiguus in the neighborhood of the villages where most human cases occurred. The first WNV infected mosquitoes were captured approximately one month before the detection of the first human cases. Overall, 33 positive pools of Cx. perexiguus and one pool of Culex pipiens were found. Serology of wild birds confirmed WNV circulation inside the affected villages, that transmission to humans also occurred in urban settings and suggests that virus circulation was geographically more widespread than disease cases in humans or horses may indicate. A high prevalence of antibodies was detected in blackbirds (Turdus merula) suggesting that this species played an important role in the amplification of WNV in urban areas. Culex perexiguus was the main vector of WNV among birds in natural and agricultural areas, while its role in urban areas needs to be investigated in more detail. Culex pipiens may have played some role as bridge vector of WNV between birds and humans once the enzootic transmission cycle driven by Cx. perexiguus occurred inside the villages. Surveillance of virus in mosquitoes has the potential to detect WNV well in advance of the first human cases.m CSIC under grant number
202030E263Research State Agency under grant numbers PGC2018-095704-B-I00 and
PID2020-116768RR-C21/C22 FEDEREuropean
Commission – NextGenerationEU (Regulation EU 2020/2094)Instituto de Salud Carlos III Project
“PI19CIII_00014
Differences in fatty acids composition between Plasmodium infected and uninfected house sparrows along an urbanization gradient
This study was funded by project P11-RNM-7038 from the Junta de Andalucia and projects PGC2018-095704-B-I00 and PID2020-118205GB-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and European (FEDER) funds. CI was funded by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development, FORMAS, no. 2015-00526. JJP was funded by the Fundacion Tatiana Perez Guzman el Bueno, MF is supported by the European Union'sHorizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie (grant agreement No 844285, 'EpiEcoMod'). Alberto Pastoriza, Manuel Vazquez, Manuel Lobon, Isabel Martin, Laura Gomez, Johan Kjellberg-Jensen and Hong-Lei Wang helped with the field and laboratory work. We are grateful to all the landowners and to Consejeria de Medio Ambiente for allowing us to work on their properties.Anthropogenic activities such as intensification of agriculture, animal husbandry and expansion of cities can negatively
impact wildlife through its influence on the availability of high-quality food resources and pathogen transmission.
The house sparrow (Passer domesticus), an urban exploiter, is undergoing a population decline. Nutritional
constrains and infectious diseases has been highlighted as potential causes. Fatty acids (FAs) play an important role
in modulating certain immune responses needed to combat parasite infections. FAs are highly influenced by dietary
availability and have been shown to vary between urban and rural birds. Habitat anthropization also affects avianmalaria
epidemiology but little attention has been given to the relationship between blood parasite infection, host FAs
composition and anthropization. Here, we analysed 165 juvenile birds either infected by Plasmodium or uninfected,
captured at 15 localities grouped in triplets containing urban, rural and natural habitats. The total level of FAs was
higher in birds fromurban than from rural habitats, suggesting a greater availability of fat-rich foods sources. Furthermore,
Plasmodium infected birds had higher relative levels of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) but lower of ω-6
PUFAs than uninfected birds. In concordance, the ω-6/ω-3 ratiowas also lower in infected than in uninfected birds, but
only from natural habitats, likely driven by the slightly higher ω-3 PUFAs in infected birds from natural habitats. Birds
from anthropized environments may metabolize the ω-3 PUFAs to promote anti-inflammatory responses against
stressors, which would result in lower ω-3 affecting their response against Plasmodium. Alternatively, lower ω-6 PUFAs may influence birds susceptibility to infection due to a weaker pro-inflammatory response. These descriptive
results do not allow us to identify the causality of these associations but highlight the need to further investigate the
relevance of FAs for birds to fight infectious diseases in habitats with different degree of urbanization.Junta de Andalucia P11-RNM-7038Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and European (FEDER) funds PGC2018-095704-B-I00
PID2020-118205GB-I00Swedish Research Council Formas 2015-00526Fundacion Tatiana Perez Guzman el BuenoEuropean Commission 84428
Ecological Effects on the Dynamics of West Nile Virus and Avian Plasmodium: The Importance of Mosquito Communities and Landscape
Humans and wildlife are at risk from certain vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and West Nile and yellow fevers. Factors linked to global change, including habitat alteration, land-use intensification, the spread of alien species, and climate change, are operating on a global scale and affect both the incidence and distribution of many vector-borne diseases. Hence, understanding the drivers that regulate the transmission of pathogens in the wild is of great importance for ecological, evolutionary, health, and economic reasons. In this literature review, we discuss the ecological factors potentially affecting the transmission of two mosquito-borne pathogens circulating naturally between birds and mosquitoes, namely, West Nile virus (WNV) and the avian malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Traditionally, the study of pathogen transmission has focused only on vectors or hosts and the interactions between them, while the role of landscape has largely been ignored. However, from an ecological point of view, it is essential not only to study the interaction between each of these organisms but also to understand the environmental scenarios in which these processes take place. We describe here some of the similarities and differences in the transmission of these two pathogens and how research into both systems may facilitate a greater understanding of the dynamics of vector-borne pathogens in the wild
On the specificity of avian blood parasites: Revealing specific and generalist relationships between haemosporidians and biting midges
The study of host-parasite relationships involving vector-borne parasites requires understanding interactions between parasites and vectors. The capacity of haemosporidians to infect insects has clear evolutionary consequences for the transmission of diseases. Here, we investigated (i) the associations between blood parasites, biting midges and birds and (ii) the potential specificity between biting midge and haemosporidian haplotypes. A total of 629 parous biting midges Culicoides and 224 wild birds (belonging to seven species) from a locality of central Spain were individually examined for the presence of Haemoproteus and Plasmodium parasites by sequencing a fragment of cytochrome B. Biting midges were identified morphologically and characterized on the basis of a fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase (COI) gene. Overall, 12 Haemoproteus and three Plasmodium haplotypes were isolated and sequenced. Among them, 10 haplotypes were exclusively isolated from biting midges, three haplotypes only from birds and two haplotypes from both biting midges and birds. Biting midge haplotypes showed both specific and generalist relationships with Haemoproteus haplotypes but only generalist relationships with Plasmodium haplotypes. Several C. festivipennis and C. kibunesis haplotypes established significant coevolutionary links with Haemoproteus haplotypes. These results shed light on the specificity of interactions between vectors and blood parasites. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Peer Reviewe
Fur or feather? Feeding preferences of species of Culicoides biting midges in Europe
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. Understanding the feeding preferences of haematophagous insects is critical to depicting the amplification and transmission networks of pathogens and identifying key vector species for surveillance programs. In the case of species from genus Culicoides, many of which are important vectors of pathogens causing animal diseases, information from molecular studies on the feeding habits of females is expanding but still limited for a significant fraction of competent vectors of Culicoides-borne pathogens. In spite of these limitations, recent studies highlight that most Culicoides species are able to feed on several vertebrate species, but present clear preferences for mammals or birds.Peer Reviewe
Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre el DIU (T de cobre 380 A) como método de planificación familiar, en mujeres adolescentes que acuden a su atención al centro de adolescentes en salud reproductiva en el Hospital Bertha Calderón Roque, durante el periodo de Febrero-Marzo 2015
Identificar el nivel de conocimiento, actitudes y prácticas sobre el DIU, en mujeres adolescentes que acuden a su atención al Centro de Adolescentes en Salud Reproductivas en el Hospital Bertha Calderón Roque, durante Febrero y Marzo del año 2015.
Es un estudio descriptivo, corte transversal, donde se estudió el nivel de conocimiento, actitud y práctica en una muestra de 40 adolescentes, que participaron voluntariamente. Se realizó una encuesta donde se midieron estas variables, utilizando la escala de Likert.
De las adolescentes encuestadas, el 50% se encontraban entre las edades de 17 a 19 años. El nivel de escolaridad mayor obtenido en las participantes fue el de Secundaria con 60%. El estado civil que con mayor predominio se mostró fue Unión estable, con más del 50%. Dentro de los datos gineco obstétricos más destacados, la Menarca se presentó más en las edades de 9 a 11 años con 57.5%. No asà la IVSA; entre los 14 a 16 años de edad. El medio de información que más impactó en las adolescentes para obtener conocimiento fue el personal médico con 37.5%. El nivel de conocimiento alcanzado por las adolescentes fue Regular con 72.5%. El tipo de Actitud que demostraron ante el uso del DIU fue Favorable con 90% y por último el tipo de Práctica que prevaleció fue Buena en las 24 adolescentes que usaron este método. Conclusiones. En la población adolescente es indispensable la información exhaustiva acerca de este método, seguro y eficaz; al invertir en mejoras en el lugar de espera en el centro de Adolescentes, como medios audiovisuales con enfoque de planificación segura, usando normativas como 0-20. En los centros educativos bajo supervisión y lineamientos del MINED, crear un espacio en asignatura que se relacione con la salud y sexualidad de los estudiantes. Y en el personal de salud seguir más de cerca a este grupo de población para evitar la cadencia generacional sobre los métodos anticonceptivos, en particular sobre el DIU
Methodological procedures explain observed differences in the competence of European populations of Aedes albopictus for the transmission of Zika virus
The risk of autochthonous transmission of Zika virus (ZIKV) in Europe greatly depends on the capacity of Aedes albopictus to transmit ZIKV. Experimental studies of the vector competence of European populations of this invasive mosquito species provided contrasting results, that may suggest differences between mosquito populations in ZIKV competence and/or differences in the methodological procedures used on the experimental studies. We systematically reviewed published studies of experimental mosquito infections and show that differences detected in the infection and transmission rates of Ae. albopictus are mostly due to differences between studies in the temperature, the viral load used to inoculate mosquitoes, and the number of days post-exposure (dpe) to the virus at which mosquitoes were analysed. In particular, the proportion of infected mosquitoes was affected by the viral load inoculated and the dpe, whereas the transmission rate was influenced by the viral load and temperature. Thus, the methodological differences used in these studies greatly affect the conclusions obtained regarding the role of Ae. albopictus in Europe as a competent vector for ZIKV and its epidemiological relevance
13. Integrating information on the role of mosquitoes for the transmission of pathogens of wildlife
Traditionally, mosquitoes have been studied given their relevance as vectors of pathogens that affect humans. However, in recent decades, their relevance as vectors of pathogens that affect wildlife has become evident. For this reason, multidisciplinary research disciplines have been developed focusing on the ecology, epidemiology and evolution of the interactions between pathogens and their hosts, including the transmission dynamics of diseases. However, there is a gap in the knowledge of mosquito-borne pathogens that affect wildlife, being necessary to study the taxa diversity, using genomic tools and, of course, their life cycles and their vectors. However, the information on the vector competence of mosquitoes for the transmission of pathogens that affect wild animals is certainly scarce. Interspecific and intraspecific differences have been evidenced. This would determine the capacity of mosquitoes to transmit parasites that infect wild animals. Different factors such as physiological and biochemical processes, or the mosquito microbiota could determine these differential capacities of mosquitoes to transmit pathogens.RGL was partially supported by a Margalida Comas contract from the Government of the Balearic
Islands co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) (REF: PD/038/2019) and
a Juan de la Cierva Formación contract (REF: FJC2019-041291-I). JMP was financed by the project
PID2020-118205GB-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation co-financed by the
European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)
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