Emerging Aedes-borne infections in southern Switzerland: Preparedness planning for surveillance and intervention

Fouque, Florence; Guidi, Valeria; Lazzaro, Mario; Ravasi, Damiana; Martinetti-Lucchini, Gladys; Merlani, Giorgio; Tonolla, Mauro; Flacio, Eleonora

doi:10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101748

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Consequently, a strategy for preventing and managing potential arbovirus outbreaks, as well as the surveillance and control activities of Ae. albopictus according to the situation and level of epidemic risks, has been recently elaborated for Ticino [ 32 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of integrated Aedes albopictus management in southern Switzerland

et al. 2021

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Background The exotic invasive tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, appeared in southern Switzerland in 2003. The spread of the mosquito has been surveyed constantly since then, and an integrated vector management (IVM) has been implemented to control its numbers. The control measures focus on the aquatic phase of the mosquito with removal of breeding sites and applications of larvicides in public areas whereas private areas are reached through extensive public information campaigns. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of the IVM. Methods Since all the municipalities with Ae. albopictus in southern Switzerland are currently implementing the IVM, Italian municipalities just across the Swiss-Italian border, where Ae. albopictus is present but no coordinated intervention programme is in place, served as control. Ovitraps and adult female traps were used to measure mosquito abundance in 2019. Generalised mixed-effects models were used to model the numbers of Ae. albopictus eggs and adult females collected. These numbers of Ae. albopictus eggs were compared to the numbers of eggs collected in 2012 and 2013 in a previous assessment of the IVM, using a hurdle model. Results Mean numbers of Ae. albopictus eggs and adult females in 2019 were consistently higher in the municipalities not following an IVM programme. In these municipalities, there were about four times (3.8) more eggs than in the municipalities implementing an IVM programme. Also, the numbers of eggs and adult females increased steadily from the beginning of the Ae. albopictus reproductive season, reaching a peak in August. In contrast, the increase in numbers of Ae. albopictus was much more contained in the municipalities implementing an IVM programme, without reaching an evident peak. Comparison with data from 2012 and 2013 indicates that the gap between intervention and non-intervention areas may have almost doubled in the past 6 years. Conclusions The results of the survey strongly support the efficacy of the IVM programme implemented in southern Switzerland compared to municipalities without defined control measures. With the constant implementation of an IVM, it appears possible to contain the numbers of Ae. albopictus at a manageable level, reducing the nuisance for the human population and the risk of arbovirus epidemics. Graphical Abstract

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of integrated Aedes albopictus management in southern Switzerland

et al. 2021

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of Integrated Aedes albopictus Management in Southern Switzerland

Ravasi

Monton

Tanadini

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BackgroundThe exotic invasive tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, appeared in southern Switzerland in 2003. The spread of the mosquito has been surveyed constantly since then and an integrated vector management (IVM) has been implemented to control its numbers. The control measures focus on the aquatic phase of the mosquito with removal of breeding sites and larvicide applications in public areas. Private areas are reached through extensive information campaigns to citizens. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of the IVM.MethodsSince all the municipalities with Ae. albopictus in southern Switzerland are currently implementing the IVM, Italian municipalities just across the Swiss-Italian border, where Ae. albopictus is present but no coordinated intervention programme is in place, served as control. Ovitraps and adult female traps were used to measure mosquito abundance in 2019. Generalised Mixed-Effects Models were used to model the numbers of Ae. albopictus eggs and adult females collected. The numbers of Ae. albopictus eggs were then compared to the numbers of eggs collected in 2012-2013 in a previous assessment of the IVM, using a hurdle model.ResultsMean Ae. albopictus egg and adult female numbers in 2019 were consistently higher in the municipalities not following an IVM programme. In these municipalities, there were about four times (3.8) more eggs than in the municipalities implementing an IVM programme. Also, the numbers of eggs and adult females increased steadily from the beginning of the Ae. albopictus reproductive season, reaching a peak in August. In contrast, the increase in numbers of Ae. albopictus was much more contained in the municipalities implementing an IVM programme, without reaching an evident peak. Comparison with data from 2012 and 2013 showed that the gap between intervention and non-intervention areas has almost doubled in the past six years.ConclusionsThe results of the survey demonstrate the efficacy of the IVM programme implemented in southern Switzerland, compared to municipalities not implementing defined control measures. With the constant implementation of an IVM, it is possible to contain the numbers of Ae. albopictus at a manageable level, reducing the nuisance for the human population and the risk of arbovirus epidemics.

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“…In Switzerland, a peak of 78 imported cases of chikungunya was reported in 2014. 31 The highest rates were seen for those aged 25–64 years, but this could be due to the demographics of travellers, rather than being a risk factor. Local transmission has been reported in the USA, France and Italy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chikungunya: risks for travellers

Simon

Caumes

Jelı́nek³

et al. 2023

Journal of Travel Medicine

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Rationale for review: Chikungunya outbreaks continue to occur, with changing epidemiology. Awareness about chikungunya is low both among the at-risk travellers and healthcare professionals, which can result in underdiagnosis and underreporting. This review aims to improve awareness among healthcare professionals regarding the risks of chikungunya for travellers. Key findings: Chikungunya virus transmission to humans occurs mainly via daytime-active mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The areas where these mosquitoes live is continuously expanding, partly due to climate changes. Chikungunya is characterized by an acute onset of fever with joint pain. These symptoms generally resolve within 1–3 weeks but at least one-third of the patients suffer from debilitating rheumatologic symptoms for months to years. Large outbreaks in changing regions of the world since the turn of the 21st century (e.g. Caribbean, La Réunion; currently Brazil, India) have resulted in growing numbers of travellers importing chikungunya, mainly to Europe and North America. Viremic travellers with chikungunya infection have seeded chikungunya clusters (France, United States of America) and outbreaks (Italy in 2007 and 2017) in non-endemic countries where Ae. albopictus mosquitoes are present. Community preventive measures are important to prevent disease transmission by mosquitoes. Individual preventive options are limited to personal protection measures against mosquito bites, particularly the daytime-active mosquitos that transmit the chikungunya virus. Candidate vaccines are on the horizon and regulatory authorities will need to assess environmental and host risk factors for persistent sequelae, such as obesity, age (over 40 years), and history of arthritis or inflammatory rheumatologic disease to determine which populations should be targeted for these chikungunya vaccines. Conclusions/recommendations: Travellers planning to visit destinations with active CHIKV circulation should be advised about the risk for chikungunya, prevention strategies, the disease manifestations, possible chronic rheumatologic sequelae, and if symptomatic, seek medical evaluation and report potential exposures.

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Emerging Aedes-borne infections in southern Switzerland: Preparedness planning for surveillance and intervention

Cited by 3 publications

References 21 publications

Effectiveness of integrated Aedes albopictus management in southern Switzerland

Effectiveness of integrated Aedes albopictus management in southern Switzerland

Effectiveness of Integrated Aedes albopictus Management in Southern Switzerland

Chikungunya: risks for travellers

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