MOSQUITO IDENTIFICATION AND MOLECULAR XENOMONITORING OF LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS IN SELECTED ENDEMIC AREAS IN GIZA AND QUALIOUBIYA GOVERNORATES, EGYPT

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Medical Parasitology, Kasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, P. O. Box 11562, Egypt.

2 Malaria & Emerging Parasitic Diseases Laboratory (MAPELab), National Microbiology Center, Instituto De Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.

3 Department of Entomology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Egypt.

Abstract

Lymphatic filariasis is a vector-borne health problem that has been focally endemic in Egypt for centuries. The chief vectors of transmission are Culicinae species. Control measures in the form of mass drug administration of DEC citrate treatment have been implemented in Nile delta for almost a decade. This study aimed to identify the prevalent mosquito species in endemic areas in Giza and Qualioubiya governorates and to monitor Wuchereria bancrofti infection by detecting the parasite DNA in collected mosquitoes. Adult mosquitoes were collected using light traps hung indoors. Microscopic examination was performed to identify and examine the morphologic characters of mosquitoes. Female Culex mosquitoes were subjected to semi-nested PCR to detect filarial DNA targeting repetitive DNA sequences (pWb12 repetitive region) specific for W.bancrofti. The results revealed 3 species of mosquitoes Culex pipiens, Culex pusillus and Culex quinquefasciatus with the predominance of Culex pipiens (85.7%). Wuchereria bancrofti DNA was not detected in
any of the collected mosquito pools. With the progress of elimination programme in Nile Delta, follow up studies with larger sample size are recommended as the predominance of Culex pipiens the main lymphatic filariasis vector remains a risk of transmission in such areas.

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