| Abstrakt: |
The biting gnat Culicoides variipennis (Coquillett) (Ceratopogonidae) is a vector of the viral agents of bluetongue and epizootic hemorrhagic diseases in ruminant animals (Foster, Jones & McCrory, 1963, Am. J. Vet. Res. 24: 1195–200; Foster, Breckon, Luedke, Jones & Metcalf, 1977, J. Wildl. Dis. 13: 9–16). We are unaware of any studies on the potential of C. variipennis to disseminate bacteria. Transmission of bacteria by biting flies can be an important aspect of the epidemiology of contagious bacterial diseases. In a 1971 epidemic of tularemia in Utah, Chrysops discalis Williston was implicated as the major vector of the etiological agent, Francisella tularellsis (McCoy & Chapin), to humans. However, mosquitoes, Culicoides species, and the biting gnat Leptoconops kerteszi (Kieffer) were also implicated (Klock, Olsen & Fukushima, 1973, J. Am. Med. Assoc. 226: 149–52). |
