title: Circulation of Dirofilaria repens, Setaria tundra, and Onchocercidae species in Hungary during the period 2011-2013.
abstract: Dirofilaria repens and recently Dirofilaria immitis are known to be endemic in Hungary. Since there is no related research on Dirofilaria carrier mosquito species from Hungary, we conducted a three-year mosquito surveillance study between 2011 and 2013. During the study period we examined 23,139 female mosquitoes with a generic filaria-specific TaqMan PCR assay, and characterized them by sequencing a 500 bp segment of 12S rRNA. An important result of our study was the detection of Setaria tundra and D. repens along with an unidentified Onchocercidae nematode. D. repens is known to be endemic in Hungary, however, the detection of S. tundra in all sampling sites throughout the study period indicates for the first time the endemicity of this parasite in Hungary. The Onchocercidae sp. nematode showed 95% nucleotide identity with previously detected unidentified nematodes from Germany, indicating a broader geographical distribution of this nematode in Europe. D. immitis specific DNA was not detected among the screened mosquitoes in this study. Here we report 11 mosquito species as potential vector organisms for local filarial infections, including Aedes vexans, Ochlerotatus annulipes, Ochlerotatus sticticus, Coquillettidia richiardii, Anopheles hyrcanus and Ochlerotatus rusticus. Dirofilaria development unit was calculated and the potential transmission period was estimated, which ranged between 65 and 113 days between sampling seasons. A relatively high infection rate (36.8%) was identified, which is a notable finding for veterinary and human health professionals. Moreover, the results of our study widen the group of possible mosquito vector species for D. repens and S. tundra in Central Europe.
authors.affiliation: Virological Research Group, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary; Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kemenesi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Kornélia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurucz
authors.affiliation: Virological Research Group, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary; Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Anett
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kepner
authors.affiliation: Virological Research Group, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary; Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Bianka
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dallos
authors.affiliation: Virological Research Group, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary; Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Miklós
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oldal
authors.affiliation: Seqomics Ltd., Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Róbert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Herczeg
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology and Oncology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Szent István University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Péter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vajdovics
authors.affiliation: Institute for Veterinary Medical Research, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Krisztián
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bányai
authors.affiliation: Virological Research Group, Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary; Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary. Electronic address: jakabf@gamma.ttk.pte.hu.
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jakab
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D009033:Culicidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D060348:Dirofilaria repens / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology; D009348:Nematoda / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Dirofilaria immitis; Dirofilaria repens; Filariosis; Mosquito; Onchocercidae sp.; Setaria tundra; Surveillance