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Abstract
The bionomics of South American strains of Ascogregarina spp. are poorly known and
the first studies were performed a few years ago. Our main objective was to characterize
Ascogregarina culicis population in Aedes aegypti immatures in temperate Argentina.
A total of 1800 water-filled containers were inspected within a cemetery of Buenos
Aires City through a reproductive period of the host (October 2006-June 2007). The
parasite was detected in 16.7% (329/1974) of the immatures and 8.5% (15/177) of the
breeding sites. The prevalence decreased from 19.9% in larvae to 6.5% in pupae. In
those infected breeding sites, about 85% of the immature mosquitoes harbor the parasite
with a median intensity of nine trophozoites per larva and six gametocysts per pupa.
The prevalence in shaded containers was higher than in sun exposed ones but the intensity
of the infection was quite similar between both lighting conditions. Sun-exposed containers
recorded water temperatures significantly higher than those under shade throughout
the study period. Parasite trophozoites were only found from January to May with a
clear seasonal pattern of prevalence. Monthly values of parasite prevalence and mosquito
host (percentage of breeding sites and number of immatures) were significantly correlated
at p<0.05 when a temporal delay of two months was considered. Our results suggest
that parasite prevalence is spatially and temporally heterogeneous in temperate urban
Argentina, and these variations are associated with the host abundance.