If antibodies, specific to particular disease agents, can be reliably detected in blood-feeding arthropods then the collection and immunological assay of mosquitoes or other hemophagous arthropods could be used to detect and monitor pathogens in wildlife. This blood contains specific immunoglobulins (Igs) which, if detectable, can provide a history of the immune responses of the vertebrate host. Sampling of wildlife may be unacceptable in parks and wildlife reserves, and capture and invasive sampling methods may be inappropriate for endangered species.īlood-fed mosquitoes captured in the wild contain a sample of blood taken from vertebrate hosts. This can be difficult, expensive, and dangerous to field personnel who handle animals and can expose them to the risk of zoonotic disease. Surveillance of wildlife disease commonly involves trapping or killing large numbers of animals for direct sampling of blood and tissues. The ability to detect and monitor such diseases in wildlife species is essential to reduce transmission to humans and livestock and within wildlife populations. Significant population declines in many species, including great apes ( Wolfe et al. Infectious diseases are also a concern in the conservation of wildlife already threatened by habitat loss and exploitation. Many livestock diseases may originate in neighboring wildlife, including bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, anaplasmosis, Newcastle disease, and prion diseases. Expanding development, climate change, the translocation of animals, and the adaptation of wildlife to urbanized environments have increased the exposure of humans to zoonotic diseases such as hantavirus, Lyme disease, avian influenza, and rabies. Human health and livestock production can be affected by infectious diseases of wildlife living close to human habitations and livestock operations. Mosquito, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, bloodmeal, antibody, wildlife disease This research indicates that, in theory, the collection and immunological assay of blood-fed mosquitoes could be developed to detect and monitor infectious disease in wildlife. Specific antibodies also could be detected in mosquitoes that had been air-dried or preserved in ethanol. Blind tests simulating the assay of feral mosquitoes were used to test the reliability of the method and detected positive mosquitoes with few false negatives and no false positives. The antibody, at an initial concentration of 1 μg/ml, could be detected in mosquitoes for 24–48 h after feeding. Mosquitoes were fed on blood containing a specific antibody, and then they were assayed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to determine the limits of detection of antibody over time, at different temperatures and initial antibody concentrations. This research examines the limits and reliability of a technique to detect antibodies in blood-fed mosquitoes in the laboratory. When a female mosquito bites, it carries away a blood sample containing specific antibodies that can provide a history of the immune responses of its vertebrate host.

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