MOSQUITO RESISTANCE TO INSECTICIDES IN BULGARIA

Mosquitoes are a group of blood-sucking insects that plays a major role in disease transmission in both humans and animals. They can pose a heavy nuisance, or serve as vectors of numerous viruses and parasites on most continents, including Europe. The strategy for successful control of the mosquito populations relies on the use of insecticides of five different categories: organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids, and biopesticides. The extensive use of the first four classes has resulted in the development of resistance originating in various mechanisms. The main ones are metabolic resistance and genetic resistance, manifested by point mutations in the insecticide targets, resulting in limited binding of neurotoxic substances. Much data is available on mosquito insecticide resistance in Bulgaria between 1948 and 1990, but only regarding organochlorines, organophosphates and carbamates. There is no data on pyrethroid resistance, which should raise an alarm for both public health authorities and private pest control companies since the only insecticides registered for professional mosquito control nowadays are pyrethroids. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the use of modern multidisciplinary approaches to study the resistance of native and invasive species of mosquitoes to insecticides, which should be a key contribution to elucidating their role in the circulation of pathogens of humans and animals and optimizing methods for controlling their populations

Human Parasitic Diseases in Bulgaria in Between 2013-2014

Parasitic diseases are a significant part of the overall pathology registered in Bulgaria. It is essential to constantly improve the efficiency of the public health system in order to deal with autochthonous parasitic disease

Imported malaria in Bulgaria, status and prognosis after eradication in 1965

Background: This retrospective analysis assessed all recorded malaria cases in Bulgaria after 1965, when the country was certified as malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO), and evaluated the readiness of the public health system to interrupt an outbreak of local transmission in case of infection importation. Methods: The cases were analyzed according to causative species; geographic origin of the imported case; and the citizenship, age, and gender of the infected individuals. Results: In the 50-year study period (1966–2015), there were a total of 3011 cases of malaria imported to Bulgaria from different regions of the world. The majority of the cases originating in Africa were caused by Plasmodium falciparum (65.5%), while most of these originating in Asia were caused by P. vivax (80.9%). The potential season for malaria transmission in Bulgaria is from April to October, and 58.5% of the malaria cases were imported during that time of the year. Conclusions: The increasing movement of people to and from areas endemic for malaria requires the health authorities of countries with appropriate conditions for reintroduction to conduct enhanced measures for surveillance and control of this potentially deadly disease. Keywords: Local transmission, Reintroduction, Surveillance, Contro

Identification of fungal taxa with pathogenic potential in soil samples from Perunika Glacier’s newly formed forefields - Livingston Island, Antarctica

Antarctica peninsula periphery islands undergo one of the most dramatic ecological changes due to ongoing global warming. The front fields of the Antarctic glaciers are extreme environments and pioneering sites for ecological succession. Rising temperatures lead to deglaciation in the Antarctic habitats, and the new terrain is subjected to the process of soil formation and microbial colonization. In the present study, we investigated the formation of pathogenic fungal soil microbiomes as an effect of forefield deglaciation. Soil samples were taken from two different forefields, one formed several years ago and the other freshly uncovered. Both habitats were in the vicinity of the Perunika Glacier situated in the northeastern direction of Hurd Peninsula, Livingston Island, the second largest island from the South Shetland Archipelago, about 100 km north of the Antarctic Peninsula. Total DNA was extracted and targeted ITS amplicon sequencing was applied. The ITS marker sequences were then taxonomically identified. The abundance of the fungal taxa was calculated. Alpha and Beta diversity analyses to obtain fungal richness in samples were performed. Our results showed that soil habitat formation, initiated by deglaciation, was such that:In the newly deglaciated forefield, there was almost no fungal DNA, which prevented further analysis; At older drier fields metagenome content was much higher; Further analysis showed that the most abundant genera were Pseudogymnoascus, Simplicillium, Hanseniaspora, Mycothermus, and Malassezia.It is known that Pseudogymnoascus and Malassezia species have pathogenic keratinolytic activity. In conclusion, the phylum Ascomycota, which dominated the core microbiome showed much higher ecological diversity and abundance, i.e. potential for colonization of the glacier forefields. In contrast, the phylum Basidiomycota appeared to be less fit for these conditions

An update of the Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) checklist for the Balkans

International audienceBackground: The prime significance of species belonging to the genus Culicoides Latreille, 1809 (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is their ability to transmit viruses such as bluetongue virus (BTV) to wild and domestic ruminants. Prior to 1998, BTV was considered exotic in Europe, but according to recent history of its outbreaks, it has become endemic in southern and eastern European countries circulating beyond its expected historical limits, into the Balkan region. The wind-borne long-distance dispersal of Culicoides spp. over water bodies and local spreading between farms emphasize the necessity of filling in the information gaps regarding vector species distribution. In most Balkan countries, data on Culicoides fauna and species distribution are lacking, or information is old and scarce.Results: During this study, 8586 specimens belonging to 41 species were collected. We present the first faunistic data on Culicoides species in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. For other countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Croatia), all historical records were compiled for the first time and then expanded with our findings to various extents. In all countries, confirmed or suspected BTV vector species belonging to the subgenera Avaritia and Culicoides were collected. The total number of species sampled during our field collections was 20 in Bosnia and Herzegovina (15 new records), 10 in Bulgaria (2 new records), 10 in Croatia (5 new records), 13 in FYROM, 9 in Kosovo, 15 in Montenegro, and 28 in Serbia. Of these, 14 species were registered for the first time in this part of the Balkans.Conclusions: This paper provides the first data about Culicoides fauna in FYROM, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia, as well as new records and an update on the checklists for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Croatia. These findings provide preliminary insights into the routes of BTV introduction and spreading within the Balkans, and present a valuable contribution to further research related to Culicoides-borne diseases in Europe

Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)

Aedes albopictus, also known as the “Asian Tiger Mosquito”, is an invasive mosquito species to Europe causing high concern in public health due to its severe nuisance and its vectorial capacity for pathogens such as dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika. Consequently, the responsible authorities implement management activities to reduce its population density, possibly to below noxious and epidemiological thresholds. In urban areas, these aims are difficult to achieve because of the species’ ability to develop in a wide range of artificial breeding sites, mainly private properties. This document (Management Plan) has been structured to serve as a comprehensive practical and technical guide for stakeholders in organizing the vector control activities in the best possible way. The current plan includes coordinated actions such as standardized control measures and quality control activities, monitoring protocols, activities for stakeholders and local communities, and an emergency vector control plan to reduce the risk of an epidemic

A mark-release-recapture study to estimate field performance of imported radio-sterilized male aedes albopictus in Albania

The pathogen transmitting Aedes albopictus mosquito is spreading rapidly in Europe, putting millions of humans and animals at risk. This species is well-established in Albania since its first detection in 1979. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is increasingly gaining momentum worldwide as a component of area-wide-integrated pest management. However, estimating how the sterile males will perform in the field and the size of target populations is crucial for better decision-making, designing and elaborating appropriate SIT pilot trials, and subsequent large-scale release strategies. A mark-release-recapture (MRR) experiment was carried out in Albania within a highly urbanized area in the city of Tirana. The radio-sterilized adults of Ae. albopictus Albania strain males were transported by plane from Centro Agricoltura Ambiente (CAA) mass-production facility (Bologna, Italy), where they were reared. In Albania, sterile males were sugar-fed, marked with fluorescent powder, and released. The aim of this study was to estimate, under field conditions, their dispersal capacity, probability of daily survival and competitiveness, and the size of the target population. In addition, two adult mosquito collection methods were also evaluated: BG-Sentinel traps baited with BG-Lure and CO2, (BGS) versus human landing catch (HLC). The overall recapture rates did not differ significantly between the two methods (2.36% and 1.57% of the total male released were recaptured respectively by BGS and HLC), suggesting a similar trapping efficiency under these conditions. Sterile males traveled a mean distance of 93.85 +/- 42.58 m and dispersed up to 258 m. Moreover, they were observed living in the field up to 15 days after release with an average life expectancy of 4.26 +/- 0.80 days. Whether mosquitoes were marked with green, blue, yellow, or pink, released at 3.00 p.m. or 6.00 p.m., there was no significant difference in the recapture, dispersal, and survival rates in the field. The Fried competitiveness index was estimated at 0.28. This mark-release-recapture study provided important data for better decision-making and planning before moving to pilot SIT trials in Albania. Moreover, it also showed that both BG-traps and HLC were successful in monitoring adult mosquitoes and provided similar estimations of the main entomological parameters needed

Mosquito Alert Dataset

The Mosquito Alert dataset includes occurrence records of adult mosquitoes. The records were collected through Mosquito Alert, a citizen science system for investigating and managing disease-carrying mosquitoes. Each record presented in the database is linked to a photograph submitted by a citizen scientist and validated by entomological experts to determine if it provides evidence of the presence of any of five targeted mosquito vectors of top concern in Europe (i.e. Aedes albopictus, Aedes aegypti, Aedes japonicus, Aedes koreicus, Culex pipiens). The temporal coverage of the database is from 2014 through 2022 and the spatial coverage is worldwide. Most of the records from 2014 to 2020 are from Spain, reflecting the fact that the project was funded by Spanish national and regional funding agencies. Since autumn 2020 the data has expanded to include substantial records from other countries in Europe, particularly the Netherlands, Italy, and Hungary, thanks to a human volunteering network of entomologists coordinated by the AIM-COST Action and to technological developments through the VEO project to increase scalability. Among many possible applications, Mosquito Alert dataset facilitates the development of citizen-based early warning systems for mosquito-borne disease risk. This dataset can be further re-used for modelling vector exposure risk or training machine-learning detection and classification routines on the linked images, to help experts in data validation and build up automated alert systems