Landing sites and diel activity in Culicoides midges attacking Fjord horses in the Netherlands

In the Old World, African horse sickness (AHS) and equine encephalosis are transmitted to equids by Culicoides midges. AHS has a case-fatality-rate of 95% in horses. Though endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, AHS virus is able to incur northwards and to disseminate widely within Mediterranean countries. For example, >1,000 equines died during the AHS-epidemics affecting Spain, Portugal and Morocco (1987-1991). The virus was isolated not only from Culicoides imicola, but also from species endemic to Europe: C.