WHO/FAO Working Team Report: entomology

A summary of the more important concerns of the Working Team with particular reference to bluetongue (BT) virus (BTV), is as follows: With the exception of Australia, the US, and possibly parts of Africa, there are almost no concrete data that could be used to direct control efforts against the responsible vector(s) of BTV in a specific geographic area. In Australia, a broad plan of attack yielded data that showed that members of the subgenus Avaritia are the primary vector species. It has been clearly shown that Culicoides variipennis (Coq.) is the dominant vector species for most of the US. In the Middle East and certain areas of Africa, isolations from possible vector species indicated that C. imicola K., again probably a species complex and belonging to the subgenus Avaritia, is one of the likely vectors. Except for some subgenera, the taxonomy for much of the Culicoides remains in disarray. The subgenus Oecacta for example still remains a catchall for many species. Although a number of proposals have been made for delineating the species of the C. (Monoculicoides) variipennis species complex, none have been initiated because of the lack of funds. The Working Team strongly feels that the lack of definition of important species complexes is the result of short-term planning that does not consider the fact that efficiency can be increased and a great deal of monies saved by directing control toward the specific species or populations thereof that are responsible for a problem.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)