Preliminary evaluation of the Culicoides biting nuisance (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the province of Boyacá, Colombia
Keywords:
Ceratopogonidae, dermatitis, public health, Andean ecosystem
Abstract
Introduction. Inhabitants in the western border of Boyacá province have reported high nuisance levels and dermatologic problems caused by the intensely irritating bites of the very small flies of the genus Culicoides.Objective. A survey was carried out to locate the affected area, identify the anthropophylic Culicoides species and estimate its abundance in Boyacá.
Materials and methods. Nuisance reports and clinical records of dermatologic cases associated with Culicoides bites were requested from health authorities in counties where nuisance reports had been received or which had geographical features apparently favorable for Culicoides infestations. An outdoors entomological survey using human landing catches was undertaken
in areas reporting a pest problem.
Results. Culicoides infestations were confirmed as a serious nuisance problem in the rural areas of nine counties located in the western foothills of the Eastern Range of the Colombian Andes. Although available epidemiological records were fragmented, it was established that in six counties 11.4% of the dermatitis cases (total=2,472 cases) reported between 2003 and 2005 were attributed to the Culicoides bites. The entomological survey identified Culicoides pachymerus as the dominant species, 99.3% of 3,389 caught females. Biting rates in the most intensely affected areas reach a geometric mean of 52 females/person per 5 minutes. Multivariate analysis indicated that abundance of C. pachymerus had a negative relationship with altitude.
Conclusions. Based on its dominance and high biting rates, C. pachymerus is probably the species responsible for the high nuisance levels caused by Culicoides bites and the associated dermatological pathology, within the study area.
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References
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13. Villarreal LI. Estrategia de control de Culicoides sp., en el departamento de Boyacá. Boletín Epidemiológico de Boyacá. Tunja: Secretaría de Salud de Boyacá. 1998. p. 105-10.
14. Barreto P. Catálogo de los Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) de Colombia. Colombia Med. 1986; 17:140-50.
15. Browne JE. Light-trap population studies of the Culicoides from three life zones in Colombia with notes on biting habits and larval habitats (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) (thesis). New Orleans: Tulane University; 1978. p. 134. 16. Hoch AL, Roberts DR, Pinheiro FP. Host-seeking behavior and seasonal abundance of Culicoides paraensis (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Brazil. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 1990;6:110-4.
17. Wirth WW, Dyce AL, Spinelli GR. An atlas of wing photographs, with a summary of the numerical charac ters of the neotropical species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Contrib Am Ent Inst. 1988;25:1-72.
18. Spinelli G, Wirth W. Clave para la identificación de las especies del género Culicoides presentes al sur de la Cuenca Amazónica, nuevas citas y notas sinonímicas (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Rev Soc Entomol Argentina. 1985;44:49-75.
19. Wirth WW, Blanton FS. Biting midges of the genus Culicoides from Panama (Diptera: Heleidae). Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 1959;109:237-482.
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21. Kettle DS, Linley JR. The biting habits of Jamaican sandflies. Preferences for individuals, limbs and site positions. Part I Introduction and Culicoides barbosai Wirth y Blanton. Jamaica: Ministry of Health; 1960.
22. Jenkins DW. Ecological observations on the blackflies and punkies of Central Alaska. Mosq News. 1948;8: 148-54.
23. Sailer RI, Marks EP, Lienk S. Notes on Culicoides in Alaska (Diptera, Heleidae). Mosq News. 1956;16:270-8.
24. Fox I. Notes on Puerto Rican biting midges or Culicoides (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae). Bull Brooklyn Entomol Soc. 1949;44:29-34.
25. Carpenter SJ. Studies of Culicoides in the Panama Canal Zone (Diptera, Heleidae). Mosq News. 1951;2:202-8. 26. Blanton FS, Wirth WW. The sand flies (Culicoides) of Florida (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Arthropods of Florida 1979;10:1-204.
27. Whelan P. Biting midges or “sandflies” in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory Disease Control Bulletin. 2003;10:1-10.
28. Sherlock IA, Guitton N. Dermatozoonosis by Culicoides´bite (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Salvador, State of Bahia, Brazil. III. Epidemiological aspects. Mem Ins Oswaldo Cruz. 1965;63:1-12.
29. Agbolade OM, Akinboye DO, Olateju TM, Ayanbiyi OA, Kuloyo OO, Fenuga OO. Biting of anthropophilic Culicoides fulvithorax (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), a vector of Mansonella perstans in Nigeria. Korean J Parasitol. 2006;44:67-72.
30. Conte A, Goffredo M, Ippoliti C, Meiswinkel R. Influence of biotic and abiotic factors on the distribution and abundance of Culicoides imicola and the Obsoletus complex in Italy. Vet Parasitol. 2007;150:333-44.
31. Bishop AL, Spohr LJ, Barchia IM. Effects of altitude, distance and waves of movement on the dispersal in Australia of the arbovirus vector, Culicoides brevitarsis Kieffer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Preventive Vet Med. 2004;65:135-45.
2. Kettle DS. Ceratopogonidae (Biting midges). En: Kettle DS, editor. Medical and veterinary entomology. Second edition. Cambridge: CAB Internacional; 1995. p. 152-76.
3. Forattini OP. Culicoides da Regiao Neotropical (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Arq Fac Hig Saude Publica Univ Sao Paulo. 1957;11:161-526.
4. Sherlock IA, Guitton N. Dermatozoonosis by Culicoides´bite (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Salvador, state of Bahia, Brazil. IV. A clinical study. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 1965;63:27-37.
5. Borkent A. The biting midges, the Ceratopogonidae (Diptera). En: Marquardt WC, editor. Biology of disease vectors. Second edition. Burlington MA: Elsevier Academic Press; 2005. p. 113-26.
6. Tesh RB. The emerging epidemiology of Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever and Oropouche fever in tropical South America. Ann NY Acad Sci. 1994;740:129-37. 7. Linley JR, Hoch AL, Pinheiro FP. Biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) and human health. J Med Entomol. 1983;20:347-64.
8. Leduc JW, Hoch AL, Pinheiro FP, Travassos Da Rosa AP. Epidemic Oropouche virus disease in northern Brazil. Bull Pan Am Health Organ. 1981;15:97-103. 9. Undiano C. Importance and present-day concepts of pathogenicity of Mansonella infections. Rev Fac Ciencias Med Córdoba. 1966;24:183-9.
10. Tidwell MA, Tidwell MA. Development of Manzonella ozzardi in Simulium amazonicum, S. argentiscutum and Culicoides insinuatus from Amazonas, Colombia. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1982;31:1137-41.
11. Homan EJ, Taylor WP, De Ruiz L, Yuill TM. Bluetongue virus and epizootic haemorrhagic disease of deer virus serotypes in northern Colombian cattle. J Hyg (Lond). 1985;95:165-72.
12. Rodriguez MA, Wirth WW. A new species of manbiting Culicoides from the high Andes of Colombia (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Florida Ent. 1986;69:311-4.
13. Villarreal LI. Estrategia de control de Culicoides sp., en el departamento de Boyacá. Boletín Epidemiológico de Boyacá. Tunja: Secretaría de Salud de Boyacá. 1998. p. 105-10.
14. Barreto P. Catálogo de los Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) de Colombia. Colombia Med. 1986; 17:140-50.
15. Browne JE. Light-trap population studies of the Culicoides from three life zones in Colombia with notes on biting habits and larval habitats (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) (thesis). New Orleans: Tulane University; 1978. p. 134. 16. Hoch AL, Roberts DR, Pinheiro FP. Host-seeking behavior and seasonal abundance of Culicoides paraensis (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Brazil. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 1990;6:110-4.
17. Wirth WW, Dyce AL, Spinelli GR. An atlas of wing photographs, with a summary of the numerical charac ters of the neotropical species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Contrib Am Ent Inst. 1988;25:1-72.
18. Spinelli G, Wirth W. Clave para la identificación de las especies del género Culicoides presentes al sur de la Cuenca Amazónica, nuevas citas y notas sinonímicas (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Rev Soc Entomol Argentina. 1985;44:49-75.
19. Wirth WW, Blanton FS. Biting midges of the genus Culicoides from Panama (Diptera: Heleidae). Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 1959;109:237-482.
20. Crawley MJ. GLIM for ecologist. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications: 1993. p. 380.
21. Kettle DS, Linley JR. The biting habits of Jamaican sandflies. Preferences for individuals, limbs and site positions. Part I Introduction and Culicoides barbosai Wirth y Blanton. Jamaica: Ministry of Health; 1960.
22. Jenkins DW. Ecological observations on the blackflies and punkies of Central Alaska. Mosq News. 1948;8: 148-54.
23. Sailer RI, Marks EP, Lienk S. Notes on Culicoides in Alaska (Diptera, Heleidae). Mosq News. 1956;16:270-8.
24. Fox I. Notes on Puerto Rican biting midges or Culicoides (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae). Bull Brooklyn Entomol Soc. 1949;44:29-34.
25. Carpenter SJ. Studies of Culicoides in the Panama Canal Zone (Diptera, Heleidae). Mosq News. 1951;2:202-8. 26. Blanton FS, Wirth WW. The sand flies (Culicoides) of Florida (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Arthropods of Florida 1979;10:1-204.
27. Whelan P. Biting midges or “sandflies” in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory Disease Control Bulletin. 2003;10:1-10.
28. Sherlock IA, Guitton N. Dermatozoonosis by Culicoides´bite (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Salvador, State of Bahia, Brazil. III. Epidemiological aspects. Mem Ins Oswaldo Cruz. 1965;63:1-12.
29. Agbolade OM, Akinboye DO, Olateju TM, Ayanbiyi OA, Kuloyo OO, Fenuga OO. Biting of anthropophilic Culicoides fulvithorax (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), a vector of Mansonella perstans in Nigeria. Korean J Parasitol. 2006;44:67-72.
30. Conte A, Goffredo M, Ippoliti C, Meiswinkel R. Influence of biotic and abiotic factors on the distribution and abundance of Culicoides imicola and the Obsoletus complex in Italy. Vet Parasitol. 2007;150:333-44.
31. Bishop AL, Spohr LJ, Barchia IM. Effects of altitude, distance and waves of movement on the dispersal in Australia of the arbovirus vector, Culicoides brevitarsis Kieffer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Preventive Vet Med. 2004;65:135-45.
How to Cite
1.
Santamaría E, Cabrera OL, Zipa Y, Ferro C, Ahumada ML, Pardo RH. Preliminary evaluation of the Culicoides biting nuisance (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the province of Boyacá, Colombia. Biomed. [Internet]. 2008 Dec. 1 [cited 2025 Apr. 5];28(4):497-509. Available from: https://revistabiomedicaorg.biteca.online/index.php/biomedica/article/view/55
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