Vector Entomology (Prof. A. Mathis)

Infectious agents transmitted by arthropods (insects, ticks) have gained increasing attention in the last decade, also in Europe. The most spectacular event was the incursion of the African bluetongue virus, which was – unexpectedly - highly efficiently spread by indigenous biting midges. 2006 a report on veterinary entomology in Switzerland, compiled by member s of our Institute and by order of the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office, revealed that the knowledge in this matter is scant and scattered. Hence, to tackle this shortage, our research group was launched in 2007. We focus on experimental and descriptive research on various aspects of arthropod vectors (bionomics, distribution and abundance, population genetics, molecular identification, physiology), particularly of indigenous insects such as biting midges, mosquitoes, Phortica fruit flies and Phlebotomeinae sandflies. Our lab acts as the National Reference Laboratory for Epizootic-Associated Vectors, as appointed by the Swiss Federal Veterinary office.