Presence of Ascogregarina culicis and Ascogregarina sp. in natural sympatric populations of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Argentina

ANA CAROLINA ALONSO; MARINA STEIN; MARIA VICTORIA MICIELI

ANAIS DA ACADEMIA BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIAS.

ACAD BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIAS

Lugar: Rio de Janeiro; Año: 2021

0001-3765

Aedes aegypti is the main vector of the four arboviruses in America which havethe greatest impact on human health. The introduction of Aedes albopictus inSouth America and Argentina acquires importance given the possibility that thisspecies may be a new vector of arboviruses in this region. For this reason, thestudies of the biology of their parasites, such as Ascogregarina spp., should beimportant for the knowledge of the invasive behavior of these vectors. Wereported the finding of Ascogregarina culicis in Aedes aegypti and Ascogregarinasp. in Ae. albopictus populations in subtropical Argentina. The prevalence ofparasitism by A. culicis in Ae. aegypti and Ascogregrarina sp. in Ae. albopictuswas 34.81% (n = 464) and 37.23% (n = 70), respectively, differing between theseasons and habitats. The infection intensity caused by A. culicis andAscogregarina sp. varied between 1 to 250 and 1 to 327 trophozoitesrespectively. Ascogregarina culicis was found throughout the all sampling periodof Ae. aegypti (June 2016-April 2018). However the presence of Ascogregarinasp. in the midgut of Ae. albopictus was not recorded throughout the wholesampling period despite the presence of the host.