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Changing environmental conditions and human encroachment on natural habitats bring human populations closer to novel sources of parasites, which might then develop into new emerging diseases. Diseases transmitted by host generalist vectors are of special interest due to their capacity to move pathogens into novel hosts. We hypothesize that humans using forests for recreation are exposed to a broad range of parasites from wild animals and their vectors. A corollary of this is that new vector-host, parasite-host, and vector-parasite associations could eventually develop. Thus, we expect to observe atypical vector-host associations. Using molecular bloodmeal analysis via amplification of the mtDNA COI gene we identified the vertebrate hosts of  Culicoides  (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) species in a sub-urban forest of Southwestern Germany. Bloodmeals were also checked for haemosporidian infections by amplifying a fragment of the mtDNA cyt  b  gene. We identified a total of 20  Culicoides  species, thirteen of which fed on humans. From 105 screened bloodmeals we obtained high quality sequences for 77 samples, 73 (94.8%) originated from humans, two from livestock ( Bos taurus  and  Equus caballus ), and two from wild birds ( Sylvia atricapilla  and  Turdus merula ). We found that four  Culicoides  species previously assumed to feed exclusively on either birds ( C. kibunensis ) or domestic mammals ( C. chiopterus ,  C. deltus ,  C. scoticus ) fed also on humans. A total of six  Culicoides  abdomens were infected with avian haemosporidian parasites ( Plasmodium  or  Haemoproteus ), four of those abdomens contained blood derived from humans. Our results suggest that parasites of wild animals may be transferred to humans through infectious bites of  Culicoides  vectors. Further, we show that  Culicoides  vectors believed to be a specialist on specific vertebrate groups can have plastic feeding preferences, and that  Culicoides  are susceptible to infection by  Plasmodium  parasites, though vector viability must still be experimentally demonstrated.

Bloodmeal Analysis Reveals Avian Plasmodium Infections and Broad Host Preferences of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) Vectors