First record in America of Aedes albopictus naturally infected with dengue virus during the 1995 outbreak at Reynosa, Mexico

Abstract

Mosquito collections were conducted during a dengue outbreak in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, July-December 1995. A total of 6694 adult mosquitoes (four genera and nine species) were captured, of which 2986 (78.3% females and 21.7% males) were Aedes albopictus and 2339 (39.7% females and 60.3% males) were Ae.aegypti. These two species comprised 84.2% of the total collection. Specimens were grouped into pools, nearly 50% of them processed for detection of virus by cythopathic effect in C6-36 and VERO cell cultures and by haemagglutination test. Five pools gave positive haemagglutination reactions and were examined by immunofluorescence using monoclonal antibodies to flavivirus and to dengue virus. One pool of ten Ae.albopictus males was positive for dengue virus: serotypes 2 and 3 were identified by serotype-specific monoclonal antibodies and confirmed by RT-PCR. This is the first report of Ae.albopictus naturally infected with dengue virus in America. Also, it is the very first time Ae.albopictus males have been found infected with dengue virus in the wild.

Mosquitos Culicidae como vetores emergentes de infecções

“…Ao que parece, adaptou-se completamente ao ambiente antrópico onde pode ser considerado como exemplo de vetor neotropical emergente. Embora não tenha ainda sido incrimidado como transmissor, recentemente foi encontrado portando infecção natural pelos vírus da Dengue, tipos 2 e 3, no México Setentrional (Ibañez-Bernal e col 12 ., 1997).…”

Larval mosquito communities in discarded vehicle tires in a forested and unforested site: detritus type, amount, and water nutrient differences

“…These species have been implicated in the transmission of arboviral diseases, such as dengue, La Crosse encephalitis, eastern equine encephalitis, and West Nile encephalitis (Mitchell et al 1993, Ibanez-Bernal et al 1997, Turell et al 2001, Gerhardt et al 2001, Turell et al 2005. Illegal dumping of tires in urban and wooded areas, coupled with declines in natural mosquito breeding sites (e.g., tree holes), have made discarded tires an important source of disease vectors.…”

Do natural container habitats impede invader dominance? Predator-mediated coexistence of invasive and native container-dwelling mosquitoes

“…Aedes albopictus (order, Diptera; family, Culicidae) is a container-dwelling invasive mosquito that invaded the USA in the 1980s from Asia (Hawley et al 1987) and has established itself in the southeastern United States (O'Meara et al 1995). A. albopictus is a vector of human diseases including West Nile and dengue (Ibanez-Bernal et al 1997;Turell et al 2005). Larval A. albopictus are superior competitors to native mosquitoes (e.g., Livdahl and Willey 1991;Novak et al 1993;Teng and Apperson 2000;Aliabadi and Juliano 2002), and have managed to displace them in some invaded areas (Juliano and Lounibos 2005).…”