Species Composition and Geographic Distribution of Culicinae Mosquitoes and Their Possible Infection with West Nile Virus in Hormozgan Province, Southern Iran

Background: West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus that causes a febrile disease and may cause a fatal neurological illness in humans. We aimed to investigate the geographic distribution of Culicinae mosquitoes and their possible infection with WNV in Hormozgan Province, southern Iran.

Methods: Field studies were carried out from June 2017 to May 2019. Different mosquito sampling methods were used monthly to collect mosquitoes from 22 sites. The Real-Time PCR technique was used to detect the virus infection in the mosquitoes.

Results: Overall, 6165 mosquitoes were caught. The species were Culex theileri (33.25%), Cx. pipiens (20.45%), Cx. quinquefasciatus (10.51%), Aedes caspius (6.33%), Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (5.82%), Ae. vexans (4.10%), Cx. sinaiticus (3.62%), Cx. antennatus (3.29%), Culiseta longiareolata (2.81%), Cx. perexiguus (2.03%), Cs. subochrea (1.95%), Cx. mimeticus (1.49%), Cx. pusillus (1.38%), Cx. univittatus (1.27%), Cx. modestus (1.14%), and Cx. sitiens (0.57%). The molecular detection of virus infection in mosquitoes found to be negative for WNV.

Conclusion: The presence of many species of mosquito vectors and high population traffic increase the risk of disease transmission is very high. Therefore, the way to restrict WNV infection factors is increasing the knowledge for personal protection measures to prevent mosquito bites.