title: Host selection of potential West Nile virus vectors in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, 2007.
abstract: The selection of vertebrate hosts by Culex mosquitoes relative to West Nile virus (WNV) transmission in neotropical countries such as Guatemala is not described. This study determined the feeding patterns of Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. nigripalpus and estimated the relative contribution of two common and frequently infected wild bird species, Turdus grayi and Quiscalus mexicanus, to WNV transmission. Engorged mosquitoes were collected from rural and urban habitats after the dry and wet seasons in the Department of Izabal in 2007. Host selection by Cx. nigripalpus varied significantly between urban and rural habitats. Both Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. nigripalpus fed predominantly on chickens and other domestic animals. Blood meals from wild birds were rare, accounting for 1.1% of blood meals identified from Cx. quinquefasciatus and 6.5% of blood meals from Cx. nigripalpus. Transmission of WNV by these two mosquito species may be dampened by extensive feeding on reservoir-incompetent hosts.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases Arbovirus Diseases Branch, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA. fxk7@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Rebekah C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Kading
authors.forename: Ana Silvia Gonzalez
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Reiche
authors.forename: Maria Eugenia
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Morales-Betoulle
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Komar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000821:virology*; D003465:Culex / Q000821:virology*; D006166:Guatemala; D007303:Insect Vectors; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*