IHMT

Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical

Home / Archives for Sousa CA

Sousa CA

The Culex pipiens complex in continental Portugal: distribution and genetic structure.

Portugal is a southern European country that displays favorable ecological conditions for the establishment of West Nile virus (WNV) transmission cycles. Competent mosquito vector species are present throughout the country.
Ler mais

Aedes aegypti on Madeira Island (Portugal): genetic variation of a recently introduced dengue vector. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz

The increasing population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes on Madeira Island (Portugal) resulted in the first autochthonous dengue outbreak, which occurred in October 2012. Our study establishes the first genetic evaluation based on the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes [cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4)] and knockdown resistance ( kdr ) mutations exploring the colonisation history and the genetic diversity of this insular vector population.
Ler mais

Ongoing outbreak of dengue type 1 in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal: preliminary report.

Following the identification of two autochthonous cases of dengue type 1 on 3 October 2012, an outbreak of dengue fever has been reported in Madeira, Portugal.
Ler mais

Hybridization and population structure of the Culex pipiens complex in the islands of Macaronesia.

The Culex pipiens complex includes two widespread mosquito vector species, Cx. pipiens and Cx. quinquefasciatus. The distribution of these species varies in latitude, with the former being present in temperate regions and the latter in tropical and subtropical regions.
Ler mais

Mosquito fauna on the Cape Verde Islands (West Africa): an update on species distribution and a new finding

To evaluate the risk of transmission of vector-borne diseases, regular updates of the geographic distribution of insect vectors are required. In the archipelago of Cape Verde, nine mosquito species have been reported.
Ler mais

Mosquito surveys and West Nile virus screening in two different areas of southern Portugal, 2004-2007

Longitudinal mosquito surveys were carried out in southern Portugal from 2004 to 2007, in a wetland area (Comporta, District of Setúbal) and around the perimeter of a dam irrigation plant that created the largest artificial lake in Europe, 250 km(2) (Alqueva, Districts of Evora and Beja).
Ler mais

Genetic and phenotypic variation of the malaria vector Anopheles atroparvus in southern Europe.

BACKGROUND:
There is a growing concern that global climate change will affect the potential for pathogen transmission by insect species that are vectors of human diseases. One of these species is the former European malaria vector, Anopheles atroparvus. Levels of population differentiation of An. atroparvus from southern Europe were characterized as a first attempt to elucidate patterns of population structure of this former malaria vector.
Ler mais

Anopheles atroparvus density modeling using MODIS NDVI in a former malarious area in Portugal.

Malaria is dependent on environmental factors and considered as potentially re-emerging in temperate regions. Remote sensing data have been used successfully for monitoring environmental conditions that influence the patterns of such arthropod vector-borne diseases.
Ler mais

Feeding patterns of molestus and pipiens forms of Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) in a region of high hybridization

Two biological forms of the mosquito Culex pipiens s.s., denoted pipiens and molestus, display behavioural differences that may affect their role as vectors of arboviruses. In this study, the feeding patterns of molestus and pipiens forms were investigated in Comporta (Portugal), where high levels of inter-form admixture have been recorded.
Ler mais

Dengue fever in Europe: could there be an epidemic in the future?

Dengue virus (DENV) is the arbovirus with the widest impact on human health. Although its dispersal is partially conditioned by environmental constraints that limit the distribution of its main vector (Aedes aegypti), DENV has been spreading geographically in recent times, but mostly afflicting tropical and subtropical regions.
Ler mais