Assessing the Risk of Exotic Mosquito Incursion through an International Seaport, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Abstract

Exotic mosquitoes, especially container-inhabiting species such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, pose a risk to Australia as they bring with them potentially significant pest and public health concerns. Notwithstanding the threat to public health and wellbeing, significant economic costs associated with the burden of mosquito control would fall to local authorities. Detection of these mosquitoes at airports and seaports has highlighted pathways of introduction but surveillance programs outside these first ports of entry are not routinely conducted in the majority of Australian cities. To assist local authorities to better prepare response plans for exotic mosquito incursions, an investigation was undertaken to determine the extent of habitats suitable for container-inhabiting mosquitoes in over 300 residential properties adjacent to the Port of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW. More than 1500 water-holding containers were recorded, most commonly pot plant saucers, roof gutters, and water-holding plants (e.g., bromeliads). There were significantly more containers identified for properties classified as untidy but there was no evidence visible that property characteristics could be used to prioritise property surveys in a strategic eradication response. The results demonstrate that there is potential for local establishment of exotic mosquitoes and that considerable effort would be required to adequately survey these environments for the purpose of surveillance and eradication programs.

A literature review of dispersal pathways of Aedes albopictus across different spatial scales: implications for vector surveillance

“…Such approaches are scarce for Ae. albopictus [ 106 ] but their implementation could improve our understanding of dispersal to inform the spatial scale that vector surveillance and control efforts need to be deployed following incursions [ 108 , 109 ]. In Australia, genomic techniques have been used to discover human-mediated dispersal of Ae.…”

Detection and Establishment of Aedes notoscriptus (Diptera: Culicidae) Mosquitoes in Southern California, United States

“…Larval surveys in urban areas of New South Wales, Western Australia, and Queensland, Australia, corroborate these observations. Productive habitats for larvae included a variety of small to medium backyard containers, garden bromeliads and broken bamboo stems, roof gutters, and cemetery vases ( Hamlyn-Harris 1928 , Fanning et al 1997 , Montgomery and Ritchie 2002 , Kay et al 2008 , Lamichhane et al 2017 , Webb et al 2021 ). In Brisbane (Queensland) cemeteries, Hamlyn-Harris (1928) noted a preference for wide-mouthed vessels with easy access to water and observed that vessels that protected larvae from direct sunlight were chosen over clear glass, except when glass containers had a considerable amount of decaying vegetation in the water that provided shade.…”

Evidence of Infection with Zoonotic Mosquito-Borne Flaviviruses in Saltwater Crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) in Northern Australia

“…Of these, most cases of DENV and JEV are imported. DENV is no longer endemic to Australia, but travel-associated outbreaks occur regularly, mainly in Northern Queensland [ 8 ]. There were JEV outbreaks in the Cape York Peninsula and Torres Strait Islands in 1995 and 1998, respectively [ 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”