Journal of Medical Entomology (2011) 48, 904-908

Hiroko Ejiri, Yukita Sato, Kyeong Soon Kim, Yoshio Tsuda, Koichi Murata, Keisuke Saito, Yukiko Watanabe, Yoshiharu Shimura and Masayoshi Yukawa (2011)
Blood meal identification and prevalence of avian malaria parasite in mosquitoes collected at Kushiro Wetland, a subarctic zone of Japan
Journal of Medical Entomology 48 (4), 904-908
Abstract: In Japan, the prevalence of avian Plasmodium in birds and mosquitoes has been partially examined in the temperate and subtropical zones; however, mosquitoes in the Japanese subarctic zone have not been adequately investigated. In this study, mosquito collections and avian Plasmodium detections from the mosquito samples were carried out to demonstrate the avian Plasmodium transmission between vector mosquitoes and birds inhabiting in Kushiro Wetland, subarctic zone of Japan. A total of 5,657 unfed mosquitoes from 18 species and 320 blood-fed mosquitoes from eight species was collected in summer 2008, 2009, and 2010. Three Aedes esoensis that fed on Hokkaido Sika Deer and one unfed Culex pipiens group were found to be positive for avian Plasmodium by polymerase chain reaction. This is the first report of the detection of avian Plasmodium DNA from mosquitoes distributing in the subarctic zone of Japan. The blood meals were successfully identified to captive or wild animals, including seven mammalian species, four bird species, and one amphibian species. These results indicated that infected birds with avian Plasmodium inhabited and direct contacts occurred between the infected birds and mosquitoes in Kushiro Wetland, Hokkaido, Japan.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Yoshio Tsuda

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Culex pipiens		Japan
	Aedes esoensis		Japan