title: Epidemiology of bluetongue in Central America and the Caribbean: initial entomological findings. Regional Bluetongue Team.
abstract: Forty-four species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) were caught in insect light traps during the first 2 years of studies on the epidemiology of bluetongue virus in the Caribbean and Central America. Traps were operated near sentinel ruminants which were bled monthly for serologic evaluation and then virus isolation. More than 570,000 individuals were identified. Culicoides insignis Lutz accounted for 90% of the catch, C. filarifer Hoffman/C. ocumarensis Ortiz 5%, C. furens Poey 3% and C. pusillus Lutz 2%. Other species accounted for less than 1% of the total catch. Sentinel ruminants became seropositive when C. insignis populations were high at many study sites. At a few sites C. pusillus and C. filarifer/C. ocumarensis were predominant or were present in large numbers during seroconversions of sentinels. Virus isolations were obtained from sentinel ruminants during times when these same species were present in large populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610.
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Greiner
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Homan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Oviedo
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Gibbs
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001819:Bluetongue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D001820:Bluetongue virus / Q000276:immunology; D002489:Central America / Q000453:epidemiology; D002519:Ceratopogonidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D012418:Ruminants; D014900:West Indies / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral