RESUMO
The prevalence of the gregarine parasite Ascogregarina culicis was determined for Aedes aegypti populations in Trinidad, West Indies. Over 5 months, a total of 5,651 Ae. aegypti larvae were collected and identified from 419 sites throughout Trinidad as part of a national dengue surveillance program. Ascogregarina culicis infections were detected in 13.4 percent of 1,986 Ae. aegypti larvae dissected. In 7 of 8 counties of major subdivisions where the parasite was detected in Trinidad, the prevalence per locality ranged from 9.6 to 17. 1 percent with an associated parasite density of 19.1-51.9 trophozoites/larva. Confirming that Ae. aegypti populations in Trinidad are highly susceptible to infection with A. culicis parasites, experimental studies showed that a strain A. culicis from Florida readily infected 3 strains of Ae. aegypti from Trinidad with essentially no associated mortality. This report extends the known geographic range of A. culicis in Ae. aegypti populations and represents one of the first country-wide surveys for this gregarine parasite. (Au)