Parasites & Vectors最新文献

{"title":"Glabridin exhibits potent inhibitory effects against Toxoplasma gondii in vitro and in vivo.","authors":"Lu Wang, Bintao Zhai, Chen Wang, Hany M Elsheikha, Haiting Guo, Xiao-Nan Zheng, Chun-Xue Zhou, Xing-Quan Zhu","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06610-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13071-024-06610-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate protozoan parasite capable of infecting a wide range of warm-blooded animals and humans. Current treatment options, primarily pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, have limitations, such as high recurrence rates, long treatment durations, and limited effectiveness against T. gondii. There is an unmet need for novel, safe, low-toxicity, and highly effective treatments. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-T. gondii effects of glabridin, a natural compound derived from the roots of a widely used medicinal plant.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The cytotoxicity of glabridin in Vero cells was assessed using a CCK-8 cell viability assay. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) targeting the Tg-529 gene was developed to quantify T. gondii and assess the inhibitory effects of glabridin on parasite proliferation. Ultrastructural changes in T. gondii after treatment were examined using electron microscopy. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) were examined to assess the effects of glabridin on ROS levels and ΔΨm in T. gondii tachyzoites. Additionally, metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses were conducted to investigate the mechanisms underlying glabridin's anti-T. gondii effects.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Glabridin exhibited low toxicity to host cells and effectively inhibited T. gondii invasion and proliferation in vitro in a time-dependent manner. Glabridin-treated tachyzoites exhibited significant structural alterations, along with increased ROS production and a reduction in ΔΨm. Metabolomic analysis indicated that glabridin significantly affected amino acid metabolism pathways in T. gondii. In vivo, glabridin treatment significantly improved survival rates in T. gondii-infected BALB/c mice at a dosage of 100 mg/kg.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study demonstrates that glabridin has potent anti-T. gondii effects in vitro and in vivo, likely through disruption of amino acid metabolism in the parasite. These findings highlight glabridin's potential as a promising therapeutic agent for toxoplasmosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"17 1","pages":"522"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11656597/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hosts and vectors of scrub typhus in Chile: epidemiological study and molecular analyses of Orientia infection in rodents and rodent-associated mites.","authors":"Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito, Gerardo Acosta-Jamett, Rayitray Abello, Ju Jiang, Allen L Richards, Katia Abarca, Thomas Weitzel","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06602-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13071-024-06602-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Candidatus Orientia chiloensis causes scrub typhus over a wide geographical range in southern Chile. The life cycle, including vectors and reservoirs of this novel rickettsial pathogen, is incompletely understood. We analyzed rodent tissue and rodent-associated mite samples collected during a field study in six localities on Chiloé Island, where human scrub typhus cases have occurred. Using molecular methods, we detected Orientia DNA in 24.8% of rodents, belonging to five of seven captured species. Orientia-infection rates showed geographical variations, but were not influenced by rodent species, sex, age, and mite infestation. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Orientia sequences from trombiculid mites (Proschoengastia eloisae) were identical to those from scrub typhus patients from the same region. The results suggest that these rodent-associated mites serve as vectors and play an important role in the ecology of scrub typhus in southern Chile. Further studies are required to determine whether Orientia-infected rodents can also serve as reservoir of Orientia in Chile.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"17 1","pages":"514"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11658049/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Borrelia miyamotoi and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato widespread in urban areas of the Czech Republic.","authors":"Alena Balážová, Tomáš Václavík, Vojtech Baláž, Pavel Široký","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06549-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13071-024-06549-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Borrelia miyamotoi and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) are important zoonotic agents transmitted by Ixodes ricinus ticks, which are widely distributed across Central Europe. Understanding the spatial distribution of these pathogens' prevalence will help identify areas with increased infection risk and facilitate the implementation of effective preventive measures.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analysed 12,955 I. ricinus ticks collected from 142 towns in the Czech Republic between 2016 and 2018. The ticks were pooled into 2591 groups of five and tested using duplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l. and B. miyamotoi. For each location, we estimated the overall prevalence of both agents using the EpiTools Epidemiological Calculator for pooled samples and calculated the minimum infection rate (MIR). To assess the potential risk of infection, we combined data on the abundance of nymphs and females with pathogen prevalence at each sampled site. Using a geographic information system (GIS), we mapped the MIR and infection risk of both Borrelia species across all 142 sampled locations and employed a geostatistical method (ordinary kriging) to predict MIR values and infection risk as continuous surfaces across the entire country.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We detected B. miyamotoi in 110 localities and B. burgdorferi s.l. in all 142 localities. The estimated prevalence of B. miyamotoi and B. burgdorferi s.l. in the collected ticks was 2.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-2.3) and 27.1% (95% CI 26.0-28.3), respectively. For B. miyamotoi, we identified previously unknown, geographically distinct hotspots of MIR up to 8.3%, with MIR slightly higher in females (2.3%) than in males (1.9%) and nymphs (1.8%), though the difference was not statistically significant. In contrast, B. burgdorferi s.l. exhibited ubiquitous presence, with consistently high prevalence nationwide, showing similar MIRs in females (16.2%) and males (16.1%), and slightly lower in nymphs (15.6%). The highest infection risk for B. miyamotoi was 12.4 infected vectors per hour in southeastern Moravia, while the highest risk for B. burgdorferi s.l. reached 78.6 infected vectors per hour in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Borrelia miyamotoi is widespread, forming distinct high-prevalence areas in certain regions. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. demonstrates consistently high prevalence across most of the country, except for a few localized areas such as southwestern Czechia. Both pathogens exhibit natural nidality, forming regions with elevated prevalence and infection risk. Long-term time-series data are needed to confirm the spatio-temporal stability of these hotspots.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"17 1","pages":"513"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11657574/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Canine vector-borne parasites in the Galapagos.","authors":"Carla Andreea Culda, Nathalie G Tejena Rodriguez, Fortunato Puleo, Rafael M Polit Sosa, Luciana Cătălina Panait, Cristina Daniela Cazan, Georgiana Deak, Renato Leon, Rommel Lenin Vinueza, Diego Páez-Rosas, Andrei Daniel Mihalca","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06592-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13071-024-06592-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The extraordinary Galapagos Islands, with an impressive number of endemic and native species, maintain the interest and curiosity for researchers from all over the world. The native species are known to be vulnerable to new pathogens, cointroduced with their invasive hosts. In the case of invasive parasitic arthropods, their evolutionary success is related to the association with other invasive hosts (such as domestic animals). These associations could become a significant driver of change, as occasionally they can seek another hosts and have the capacity to transmit pathogens between domestic and wild animals. The current study aims to identify the distribution and abundance of canine vector-borne parasites in the Galapagos Islands based on the possibility that some of them could spill over to endemic mammals.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 1221 blood samples were randomly collected from privately owned dogs on San Cristóbal, Isabela, Santa Cruz, and Floreana Islands during the years 2021 and 2022. All samples were examined for vector-borne pathogens using the modified Knott's test and conventional, nested, and multiplex polymerase chain reactions (PCRs), followed by sequencing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The PCR and Knott tests confirmed the presence of Dirofilaria immitis (2%, 25/1221) in all islands. While molecular analyses showed heartworm DNA only in dogs from the San Cristóbal (3.3%) and Isabela (2.4%) Islands. Moreover, other pathogens Babesia vogeli (3%, 37/1221) and Hepatozoon canis (0.2%, 2/1221) were detected for the first time by molecular analyses.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Dogs from Galapagos are hosts to various pathogens, of which some are potentially zoonotic while some other could be spill-over to endemic endangered carnivores, such as sea lions. To understand and limit their impact, long-term surveillance, control, and awareness is needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"17 1","pages":"515"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11656949/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Preventive efficacy of six monthly doses of NexGard® PLUS or Simparica Trio® against a macrocyclic lactone-resistant isolate (JYD-34) of Dirofilaria immitis and of a single dose of NexGard PLUS against a susceptible isolate.","authors":"Joseph Prullage, Justin Frost, Utami DiCosty, Elizabeth Martin, Pascal Dumont, Stephen Yoon, Ricarda Süssenberger","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06603-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13071-024-06603-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Two studies were conducted assessing the efficacy of NexGard® PLUS (NP) in preventing heartworm disease. Study 1 evaluated the efficacy of six monthly doses of NP or Simparica Trio® (ST) against a macrocyclic lactone-resistant isolate of heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis, and study 2 evaluated the efficacy of a single dose of NP against a susceptible isolate.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In two studies, dogs that were negative for heartworms by antigen test and modified Knott's test were used. In study 1, dogs were randomly allocated into three treatment groups (n = 6/group): negative control, NP per label instructions, and ST per label instructions. Dogs were inoculated with 50 third-stage D. immitis larvae (JYD-34 isolate) on day -30. NP and ST were administered orally on days 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150. A necropsy was performed on day 180 for adult heartworm recovery. In study 2, dogs were randomly allocated into two treatment groups (n = 10/group): negative control and NP. Dogs were inoculated with 50 third-stage larvae (SC-20 isolate) on day -30. NP was administered orally once on day 0 to target the minimum moxidectin label dose. A necropsy was performed on day 120 for adult heartworm recovery.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>For study 1, all control dogs had adult heartworms at necropsy (geometric mean, 39.7; range, 28-48). Two of the NP-treated dogs had one live worm, and one of the ST-treated dogs had one live worm. Both treated groups were significantly different from the control group with an efficacy of 99.5% for NP and 99.8% for ST (P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference (P = 0.8797) between the groups treated with NP and ST. For study 2, all control dogs had adult heartworms (geometric mean, 34.5; range 26-43). None of the dogs treated with NP had live adult worms (efficacy of 100%, P < 0.0001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The results of study 1 demonstrated that NexGard® PLUS and Simparica Trio® administered at the label dose provided comparable efficacy against a macrocyclic lactone-resistant isolate of D. immitis. The results of study 2 demonstrated that NexGard® PLUS administered once near the minimum label dose was 100% effective against a susceptible isolate.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"17 1","pages":"519"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11658403/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mosquito breeding water parameters are important determinants for Microsporidia MB in the aquatic stages of Anopheles species.","authors":"Esinam A Akorli, Nana Efua Andoh, Richardson K Egyirifa, Christopher Dorcoo, Sampson Otoo, Seraphim N A Tetteh, Reuben Mwimson Pul, Derrick B Sackitey, Stephen K D Oware, Samuel K Dadzie, Jewelna Akorli","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06596-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13071-024-06596-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Microsporidia MB disrupts Plasmodium development in Anopheles mosquitoes, making it a possible biocontrol tool for malaria. As a tool for vector/disease control, its ecological distribution and the factors that determine their occurrence must be defined. We investigated the frequency of Microsporidia MB in Anopheles mosquitoes across selected sites in northern and southern Ghana, as well as the physicochemical parameters of mosquito breeding water that are associated with the occurrence of the fungus, by fitting regression models.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A non-column extraction method was used to extract DNA from the abdomens of 4255 adult Anopheles mosquitoes that emerged from larvae and pupae collected between August and October of 2021 and 2022. Detection of Microsporidia MB was achieved using quantitative PCR (qPCR), while mosquito species were molecularly identified using short interspersed nuclear elements (SINE), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) methods, and the ANOSPP algorithm.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall Microsporidia MB distribution was 2.2% (92/4255). Male mosquitoes exhibited a higher frequency of infections and had a predicted probability of infection that was 85% higher than that of females. Sites in Ghana's Savannah zone had the highest Microsporidia MB distribution (68.5%). Biochemical oxygen demand in mosquito breeding water was estimated to be positively associated with and significantly predicts Microsporidia MB in mosquitoes with an accuracy of 94%. Increasing ammonium ion concentrations reduced the chances of finding Microsporidia MB-positive mosquitoes. According to our data, all Anopheles mosquitoes, including minor species such as An. squamosus, An. pretoriensis and An. rufipes, had equal probability of Microsporidia MB infection.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These results provide preliminary information on micro-ecological factors that potentially support the sustainability of Microsporidia MB infection in mosquitoes during their aquatic life stages. It will be important, therefore, to explore the impact of strategies for larval source management on these factors to ensure that the symbiont's persistence during the host's aquatic stages may not be adversely affected should it be used as an integrated approach for mosquito/disease control.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"17 1","pages":"509"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11657153/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sequencing confirms Anopheles stephensi distribution across southern Yemen.","authors":"Yasser A Baheshm, Alia Zayed, Abdullah A Awash, Madison Follis, Payton Terreri, Jeanne N Samake, Adel Aljasari, James F Harwood, Audrey Lenhart, Sarah Zohdy, Samira M Al-Eryani, Tamar E Carter","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06601-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13071-024-06601-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The invasion of Anopheles stephensi in Africa warrants investigation of neighboring countries. In this study, genetic analysis was applied to determine the status of An. stephensi in southern Yemen. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) were sequenced in An. stephensi collected in Dar Sa'ad (Aden City), Tuban, Rodoom, Al Mukalla, and Sayhut, and phylogenetic analysis confirmed An. stephensi identity. Our analyses revealed that the ITS2 sequences were identical in all An. stephensi, while COI analysis revealed two haplotypes, one previously reported in northern Horn of Africa and one identified in this study for the first time. Overall, these findings revealed low levels of mitochondrial DNA diversity, which is consistent with a more recent population introduction in parts of southern Yemen relative to the Horn of Africa. Further, whole genomic analysis is needed to elucidate the original connection with invasive populations of An. stephensi in the Horn of Africa.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"17 1","pages":"507"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11657292/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Automated age grading of female Culex pipiens by an optical sensor system coupled to a mosquito trap.","authors":"María I González Pérez, Bastian Faulhaber, Mark Williams, Joao Encarnaçao, Pancraç Villalonga, Carles Aranda, Núria Busquets","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06606-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13071-024-06606-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The age distribution of a mosquito population is a major determinant of its vectorial capacity. To contribute to disease transmission, a competent mosquito vector, carrying a pathogen, must live longer than the extrinsic incubation period of that pathogen to enable transmission to a new host. As such, determining the age of female mosquitoes is of significant interest for vector-borne diseases surveillance and control programs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this contribution, an automated age-grading system was developed to classify the age of female Culex pipiens, which is the primary vector of West Nile virus and other pathogens of medical and veterinary importance in northern latitudes. The system comprises an optical wingbeat sensor coupled to the entrance of a mosquito trap and a machine learning model. Three age classes were used in the study: young (2-4 days), middle (7-9 days) and old (14-16 days). From a balanced dataset of flight data, four features were extracted: wingbeat fundamental frequency, spectrogram, power spectral density and Mel frequency cepstral coefficients. The features were used for training with the XGBoost algorithm to generate a model for age classification.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The best performing model was trained with the power spectral density feature on two age classes, ≤ 4 days old and ≥ 7 days old, and had an accuracy of 71.8%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>An automated mosquito age-grading system was applied for the first time to our knowledge for automated age classification in mosquitoes; and complements the mosquito genus and sex classification capability of the system reported in our previous work. The system may find use in mosquito-borne disease surveillance and control to help to discriminate young mosquitoes (≤ 4 days old) from older mosquitoes, which may act as vectors of arboviruses.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"17 1","pages":"510"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11656798/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing vector control: AI-based identification and counting of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquito eggs.","authors":"Minghao Wang, Yibin Zhou, Shenjun Yao, Jianping Wu, Minhui Zhu, Linjuan Dong, Dunjia Wang","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06587-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13071-024-06587-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Dengue fever poses a significant global public health concern, necessitating the monitoring of Aedes mosquito population density. These mosquitoes serve as the disease vectors, making their surveillance crucial for dengue prevention. The objective of this study was to address the difficulty associated with identifying and counting mosquito eggs of wild strains during the monitoring of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) density via ovitraps in field surveys.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We constructed a dataset comprising 1729 images of Ae. albopictus mosquito eggs from wild strains and employed the Segment Anything Model to enhance the applicability of the detection model in complex environments. A two-stage Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Network model was used to establish a detection model for Ae. albopictus mosquito eggs. The identification and counting process involved applying the tile overlapping method, while morphological filtering was employed to remove impurities. The model's performance was evaluated in terms of precision, recall, and F1 score, and counting accuracy was assessed using R-squared and root mean square error (RMSE).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The experimental results revealed the model's remarkable identification capabilities, achieving precision of 0.977, recall of 0.978, and an F1 score of 0.977. The R-squared value between the actual and identified egg counts was 0.997, with an RMSE of 1.742. The average detection time for a single tile was 0.48 s, which was more than 10 times as fast as the human-computer interaction method in counting an entire image.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The model demonstrated excellent performance in recognizing and counting Ae. albopictus mosquito eggs, indicating great application potential. This study offers novel technological support for enhancing vector control effectiveness and public health standards.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"17 1","pages":"511"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11656830/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854915","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic diversity and Wolbachia infection in the Japanese encephalitis virus vector Culex tritaeniorhynchus in the Republic of Korea.","authors":"Jiseung Jeon, Heung Chul Kim, Martin J Donnelly, Kwang Shik Choi","doi":"10.1186/s13071-024-06595-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13071-024-06595-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Culex tritaeniorhynchus, a major vector of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), is found across a broad geographical range, including Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. Understanding the population structure and genetic diversity of pathogen vectors is increasingly seen as important for effective disease control. In China and Japan, two countries in close proximity to the Republic of Korea (ROK), Cx. tritaeniorhynchus has been categorized into two clades based on the DNA barcoding region of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), suggesting the presence of cryptic species. No comprehensive analysis of the genetic diversity in Cx. tritaeniorhynchus has been conducted in the ROK. To address this gap, we investigated the population structure of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the ROK.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In Daegu, mosquito collections were conducted over a 2-year period from 2022 to 2023. For all other regions, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus specimens collected in 2023 were used. The COI barcoding region was analyzed to determine the genetic structure of the populations, supplemented with data from the 28S ribosomal DNA region. Each population was also examined for the eventual presence of Wolbachia infection. Finally, a back trajectory analysis was conducted to assess the possibility of international introduction of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus into the ROK.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The analysis of the COI region revealed the presence of two distinct clades within Cx. tritaeniorhynchus; these clades were the same as Cx. tritaeniorhynchus continental type (Ct-C) and C. tritaeniorhynchus Japanese type (Ct-J) previously reported. In contrast, the nuclear 28S region showed no significant genetic differentiation between these clades. Wolbachia infection was confirmed in some populations, but there was no evidence of an association with Wolbachia in Ct-C and Ct-J. It was also confirmed that the ROK is currently dominated by the Ct-J clade, with a possible introduction of Ct-C via air currents.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Determining the presence of cryptic species is important for preventing vector-borne diseases. The results of this study confirm the existence of two clades of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the ROK, with Ct-J being the dominant clade. Our findings enhance current understanding of the genetic diversity within Cx. tritaeniorhynchus and provide valuable insights for the prevention of JEV outbreaks and the effective management of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus populations in East Asia.</p>","PeriodicalId":19793,"journal":{"name":"Parasites & Vectors","volume":"17 1","pages":"518"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11656722/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}