Culicoides biting midges are biological vectors of arboviruses including bluetongue virus (BTV), Schmallenberg virus (SBV) and African horse sickness virus (AHSV). Zoos are home to a wide range of ‘at risk’ exotic and native species of animals. These animals have a high value both in monetary terms, conservation significance and breeding potential. To understand the risk these viruses pose to zoo animals, it is necessary to characterise the Culicoides fauna at zoos and determine which potential vector species are feeding on which hosts. Light-suction traps were used at two UK zoos: the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) London Zoo (LZ) and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo (WZ). Traps were run one night each week from June 2014 to June 2015. Culicoides were morphologically identified to the species level and any blood-fed Culicoides were processed for blood-meal analysis. DNA from blood meals was extracted and amplified using previously published primers. Sequencing was then carried out to determine the host species. A total of 11,648 Culicoides were trapped and identified (n = 5880 from ZSL WZ; n = 5768 from ZSL LZ), constituting 25 different species. The six putative vectors of BTV, SBV and AHSV in northern Europe were found at both zoos and made up the majority of the total catch (n = 10,701). A total of 31 host sequences were obtained from blood-fed Culicoides. Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus, Culicoides dewulfi, Culicoides parroti and Culicoides punctatus were found to be biting a wide range of mammals including Bactrian camels, Indian rhinoceros, Asian elephants and humans, with Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus also biting Darwin’s rhea. The bird-biting species, Culicoides achrayi, was found to be feeding on blackbirds, blue tits, magpies and carrion crows. To our knowledge, this is the first study to directly confirm blood-feeding of Culicoides on exotic zoo animals in the UK and shows that they are able to utilise a wide range of exotic as well as native host species. Due to the susceptibility of some zoo animals to Culicoides-borne arboviruses, this study demonstrates that in the event of an outbreak of one of these viruses in the UK, preventative and mitigating measures would need to be taken.

中文翻译：

---

英国两家动物园库蠓属物种组成和宿主血粉的分子鉴定

蠓蠓是虫媒病毒的生物载体，包括蓝舌病毒 (BTV)、Schmallenberg 病毒 (SBV) 和非洲马瘟病毒 (AHSV)。动物园是各种“处于危险中”的外来和本地动物物种的家园。这些动物在货币价值、保护意义和繁殖潜力方面都具有很高的价值。要了解这些病毒对动物园动物造成的风险，有必要对动物园库蠓动物群进行特征描述，并确定哪些潜在的媒介物种以哪些宿主为食。两个英国动物园使用了吸光陷阱：伦敦动物学会 (ZSL) 伦敦动物园 (LZ) 和 ZSL Whipsnade 动物园 (WZ)。从 2014 年 6 月到 2015 年 6 月，陷阱每周运行一晚。库蠓在物种水平上进行了形态学鉴定，并且对任何血液喂养的库蠓进行了处理以进行血粉分析。使用先前发表的引物提取和扩增来自血粉的 DNA。然后进行测序以确定宿主物种。共捕获并鉴定了 11,648 只库蠓（n = 5880 来自 ZSL WZ；n = 5768 来自 ZSL LZ），构成 25 个不同的物种。在两个动物园都发现了北欧 BTV、SBV 和 AHSV 的六种推定载体，占总捕获量的大部分（n = 10,701）。从血饲库蠓中获得了总共 31 个宿主序列。库蠓/C. scoticus、Culicoides dewulfi、Culicoides parroti 和 Culicoides punctatus 被发现叮咬范围广泛的哺乳动物，包括双峰驼、印度犀牛、亚洲象和人类，与 Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus 也咬达尔文的土鳖虫。咬鸟物种 Culicoides achrayi 被发现以黑鸟、蓝山雀、喜鹊和食腐乌鸦为食。据我们所知，这是第一项直接证实库蠓吸食英国外来动物园动物血液的研究，并表明它们能够利用各种外来和本地宿主物种。由于一些动物园动物对库蠓传播的虫媒病毒易感，这项研究表明，如果其中一种病毒在英国爆发，则需要采取预防和缓解措施。这是第一项直接证实库蠓吸食英国外来动物园动物血液的研究，表明它们能够利用各种外来和本地宿主物种。由于一些动物园动物对库蠓传播的虫媒病毒易感，这项研究表明，如果其中一种病毒在英国爆发，则需要采取预防和缓解措施。这是第一项直接证实库蠓吸食英国外来动物园动物血液的研究，表明它们能够利用各种外来和本地宿主物种。由于一些动物园动物对库蠓传播的虫媒病毒易感，这项研究表明，如果其中一种病毒在英国爆发，则需要采取预防和缓解措施。