Diversidad y distribución de mosquitos (Diptera: Culicidae) en el Perú y su relación con las enfermedades metaxénicas

Introduction: The Andean and Amazonian tropical ecosystems determine the great biodiversity found in Peru. However, studies on mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in the country are scarce, resulting in an information gap regarding their diversity, ecology, distribution and abundance. Objective: To look for documented evidence on the diversity and distribution of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Peru, and to establish —in relation to species of medical importance—their potential link with the epidemiological cycle of some metaxenic diseases. Materials and methods: A literature review was conducted in Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Scielo, as well as in seven databases specialized in insect taxonomy, using specific terms and their combinations by means of Boolean operators (“AND” and “OR”). Search strategy: study types: original research articles, review articles, books and book chapters. Publication period: no initial limit-June 2020. Languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Results: A total of 99 publications were retrieved after the initial search, 84 in the 4 electronic databases and 15 in the specialized databases, of which 41 met the inclusion criteria. An additional record was included due to its relevance regarding the objective of the review. The studies included were original articles (n=28), review articles (n=6), books (n=5), book chapters (n=2), and undergraduate thesis (n=1). Regarding the publication language, 25 (59.52%) were published in English and 17 (40.48%) in Spanish. Conclusions. In Peru, the greatest diversity of mosquito genuses is found in the departments of Loreto, Huanuco, and Madre de Dios. Knowledge about the mosquito diversity in Peru with the potential to cause health problems is relatively scarce, and it focuses on Aedes aegypti and some species of Anopheles and Culex genuses, thus leaving aside a rich diversity distributed in the Amazonian forests, high jungle and inter-Andean valleys.