[Observation on the early development of inoculated Brugia malayi microfilariae in mosquitoes]

This paper reports the early development and variation of inoculated Brugia malayi microfilariae in 3 groups of mosquitoes, i. e. young Anopheles sinensis, young Culex quinquefasciatus and old Cx. quinquefasciatus. Significant differences were observed among these groups. Sixty hours after inoculation, the percentage of normally developing filarial larvae in young An. sinensis was 72.3%; the percentage of melanized microfilariae in young Cx. quinquefasciatus was 75.4% and the percentage of filarial larvae which developed abnormally or remained in diapause status in old Cx. quinquefasciatus was 67.1%, each being much higher than that in the other groups. It was suggested that the immune competence of the mosquitoes had influence upon the filarial development. The intensity of the immune response not only varied with the species, but also diminished with the aging of mosquitoes.