Last Updated: 30/05/2024
Hemosporids and arboviruses emerging in culicids and culicoids of the São Paulo Zoological Park
Objectives
*Original title in Portuguese: Hemosporídeos e arbovírus emergentes em culicídeos e culicoides do Parque Zoológico de São Paulo
This study will address the following questions:
- Which species of vectors (Culicidae and Culicoides) are present in the study area?
- In which vertebrate species do these vectors feed? and
- Which haemosporid and arbovirus parasites are infecting these vectors?
Studying avian malaria at the Zoo of São Paulo in birds of 17 different orders, it showed high positivity of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus among captive, free-living, migrant, endemic or exotic birds. These parasites were identified in 27% of the analyzed bird species and established their barcoding for the new Plasmodium and Haemoproteus species characterized. To identify their vectors, a pilot study of one month was conducted, capturing 2000 mosquitoes of 7 genera, including Culex, Aedes and Anopheles, which are also important vectors of arboviruses. The arboviruses have all the necessary conditions for their emergence: there are species of reservoir animals (mainly birds and monkeys), mosquito vectors, the Atlantic Forest, a large flow of animals from other locations through migration or transfer between zoos, in addition to the extensive visitation human in the fourth largest zoo in the world.
Dec 2018 — Apr 2023
Related Resources
