An entomological review of invasive mosquitoes in Europe

Abstract

Among the invasive mosquitoes registered all over the world, Aedes species are particularly frequent and important. As several of them are potential vectors of disease, they present significant health concerns for 21st century Europe. Five species have established in mainland Europe, with two (Aedes albopictus and Aedes japonicus) becoming widespread and two (Ae. albopictus and Aedes aegypti) implicated in disease transmission to humans in Europe. The routes of importation and spread are often enigmatic, the ability to adapt to local environments and climates are rapid, and the biting nuisance and vector potential are both an ecomonic and public health concern. Europeans are used to cases of dengue and chikungunya in travellers returning from the tropics, but the threat to health and tourism in mainland Europe is substantive. Coupled to that are the emerging issues in the European overseas territorities and this paper is the first to consider the impacts in the remoter outposts of Europe. If entomologists and public health authorities are to address the spread of these mosquitoes and mitigate their health risks they must first be prepared to share information to better understand their biology and ecology, and share data on their distribution and control successes. This paper focusses in greater detail on the entomological and ecological aspects of these mosquitoes to assist with the risk assessment process, bringing together a large amount of information gathered through the ECDC VBORNET project.

Zika virus in Brazil and the danger of infestation by Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquitoes

“…Well adapted to rock pools and other containers (77) (78) (79) (80) , the former species is now widely distributed in Europe (77) , and the latter is distributed in the USA and Europe (78) (79) (80) .The ecological and health implications of 5 invaders of Europe (Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Aedes japonicus, Aedes koreicus and Aedes atropalpus) were thoroughly reviewed, with the fi rst 2 species already involved in disease transmission in Europe and Aedes albopictus and Aedes japonicus already showing widespread distribution (80) .…”

Aedes albopictus and Its Environmental Limits in Europe

“…This enables populations of Ae . albopictus to exist without overwintering strategies [8,9], whereas in Europe, Ae . albopictus is subjected to different climatic conditions.…”

“…albopictus is subjected to different climatic conditions. The production of eggs undergoing a winter diapause facilitated to a large extent the species’ establishment outside the native range [10,9]. …”

A draft genome sequence of an invasive mosquito: an ItalianAedes albopictus

“…This implies a boosted investment in the research on the biology of the Asian tiger mosquito, especially in its European environment. 18 There has been an increased emphasis in the study of 'European' tiger mosquito 'strains', mostly referring to its population biology and ecology. 15 As members of the European Infravec Consortium, 19 we decided to shift gears and to determine the sequence of specimens of A. albopictus isolated from the wild in Italy.…”