A horse-baited trap and a mobile insect sorting table were used to conduct an arthropod survey for potential vectors of Potomac Horse Fever in southern Maryland and northern Virginia. The trap and table worked effectively for the live collection and sorting of haemophagous Diptera such as: Simulium spp., Stomoxys calcitrans, Musca autumnalis, Tabanus spp. and Chrysops spp. during the diurnal co...

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) pose a significant threat to global health, causing human disease with increasing geographic range and severity. The recent availability of the genome sequences of medically important mosquito species has kick-started investigations into the molecular basis of how mosquito vectors control arbovirus infection. Here, we discuss recent findings concerning the ...

Arthropod-borne virus encephalitis in the U.S.A. includes LaCrosse, St Louis, western equine, eastern equine, Venezuelan equine, and Powassan in that order of frequency. Diagnosis can be aided by the history of seasonal occurrence, climate, geographic location, exposure to vectors, and age of the patient. The definitive diagnosis is usually made by serological tests such as neutralization, comp...

Mosquitoes transmit pathogens that cause infectious diseases of global importance. Techniques to easily introduce genes into mosquitoes, however, limit investigations of the interaction between microbes and their arthropod vectors. We now show that a cationic liposome significantly enhances delivery and expression of plasmid DNA in Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. We then introdu...

More than two thirds of emerging viruses are of zoonotic origin, and among them RNA viruses represent the majority. Ceratopogonidae (genus Culicoides) are well-known vectors of several viruses responsible for epizooties (bluetongue, epizootic haemorrhagic disease, etc.). They are also vectors of the only known virus infecting humans: the Oropouche virus. Female midges usually feed on a variety ...

Introduction Institutionalizing research and training for the management of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) through establishment of a worldclass research centre In a recent article titled ‘‘Neglected No Longer: New Progress on NTDs,’’ Richard Hartfield argues that NTDs are now mainstream because they are on the agenda of three key policy forums_the African Union (AU), the World Health Assem...

The complete genomes of Orungo virus (ORUV), Lebombo virus (LEBV) and Changuinola virus (CGLV) were sequenced, confirming that they each encode 11 distinct proteins (VP1-VP7 and NS1-NS4). Phylogenetic analyses of cell-attachment protein 'outer-capsid protein 1' (OC1), show that orbiviruses fall into three large groups, identified as: VP2(OC1), in which OC1 is the 2nd largest protein, including ...

Ticks, including the Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes scapularis hard tick species, are regarded as the most common arthropod vectors of both human and animal diseases in Europe and the United States capable of transmitting a large number of bacteria, viruses and parasites. Since ticks in larval and nymphal stages share the same host community which can harbor multiple pathogens, they may be co-infect...

This study aims to provide trypanosomiasis-affected countries with standardized datasets and methodologies for mapping the habitat of the tsetse fly (Glossina spp., the disease vector) by customizing and integrating state-of-the-art land cover maps on different spatial scales. Using a combination of inductive and deductive approaches, land cover and fly distribution maps are analysed in a geogr...