Magdalena Laura Wehmeyer (Hamburg / DE), María José Tolsá García (Mexico City / MX), Prof. Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit (Hamburg / DE), David Roiz (Montpellier / FR), Dr. Renke Lühken (Hamburg / DE)
Abstract text
Mosquito host-feeding patterns are an important factor shaping the mosquito's vector capacity.As the interaction between vectors and hosts determine transmission cycles and risk of pathogen spill over, the understanding of host selection is important to assess the risk for human and animal health. Host selection can depend on intrinsic (e.g. mosquito genetics) as well as extrinsic factors (e.g. host availability). For example, anthropophagic mosquitoes are potential vectors for pathogens transmitted between humans (e.g. chikungunya virus), while opportunistically feeding mosquitoes can serve as bridge vectors for zoonotic viruses (e.g. West Nile virus).
In order to investigate mosquito host-feeding patterns, we collected the data from 339 scientific publications, covering a timeframe of nearly eight decades (1942-2019). We included studies, which sampled engorged mosquito females and screened the bloodmeal for hosts using any serological or molecular biological method. The collected and standardized parameters comprised mosquito species, blood meal hosts, collection method, method for blood meal analysis, time and date, and, if provided, land use and landscape information per study. These data on 544.809 identified blood meals of mosquitoes of 475 taxa allow a wide range of in-depth analysis of the host-feeding ecology of mosquitoes. For example, 285 of the taxa (60%) fed on humans, making them potential vectors of pathogens relevant for public health. Furthermore, the data indicate different host-feeding patterns: while some mosquito species like Culex quinquefasciatus show a broad host range, clear preferences for non-human mammalian species are evident for Culex tritaeniorhynchus. Additionally, the present dataset can be used for standardized classifications of general host-feeding patterns. This comprehensive meta-analysis helps to unterstand the interaction between mosquito and host species to understand global transmission patterns of mosquito-borne pathogens.