scholarly journals A comparative modeling study on non-climatic and climatic risk assessment on Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus)

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzin Shabani ◽  
Mahyat Shafapour Tehrany ◽  
Samaneh Solhjouy-fard ◽  
Lalit Kumar

Aedes albopictus, the Asian Tiger Mosquito, vector of Chikungunya, Dengue Fever and Zika viruses, has proven its hardy adaptability in expansion from its natural Asian, forest edge, tree hole habitat on the back of international trade transportation, re-establishing in temperate urban surrounds, in a range of water receptacles and semi-enclosures of organic matter. Conventional aerial spray mosquito vector controls focus on wetland and stagnant water expanses, proven to miss the protected hollows and crevices favoured by Ae. albopictus. New control or eradication strategies are thus essential, particular in light of potential expansions in the southeastern and eastern USA. Successful regional vector control strategies require risk level analysis. Should strategies prioritize regions with non-climatic or climatic suitability parameters for Ae. albopictus? Our study used current Ae. albopictus distribution data to develop two independent models: (i) regions with suitable non-climatic factors, and (ii) regions with suitable climate for Ae. albopictus in southeastern USA. Non-climatic model processing used Evidential Belief Function (EBF), together with six geographical conditioning factors (raster data layers), to establish the probability index. Validation of the analysis results was estimated with area under the curve (AUC) using Ae. albopictus presence data. Climatic modeling was based on two General Circulation Models (GCMs), Miroc3.2 and CSIRO-MK30 running the RCP 8.5 scenario in MaxEnt software. EBF non-climatic model results achieved a 0.70 prediction rate and 0.73 success rate, confirming suitability of the study site regions for Ae. albopictus establishment. The climatic model results showed the best-fit model comprised Coldest Quarter Mean Temp, Precipitation of Wettest Quarter and Driest Quarter Precipitation factors with mean AUC value of 0.86. Both GCMs showed that the whole study site is highly suitable and will remain suitable climatically, according to the prediction for 2055, for Ae. albopictus expansion.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Vittoria Mancini ◽  
Christie S. Herd ◽  
Thomas H. Ant ◽  
Shivan M. Murdochy ◽  
Steven P. Sinkins

AbstractThe global incidence of arboviral diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, including dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika, has increased dramatically in recent decades. The release of Aedes aegypti carrying the maternally inherited symbiont Wolbachia as an intervention to control arboviruses is being trialled in several countries. However, these efforts are compromised in many endemic regions due to the co-localization of the secondary vector Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito. Ae. albopictus has an expanding global distribution following incursions into a number of new territories. To date, only the wMel and wPip strains of Wolbachia have been reported to be transferred into and characterized in this vector. A Wolbachia strain naturally infecting Drosophila simulans, wAu, was selected for transfer into a Malaysian Ae. albopictus line to create a novel triple-strain infection. The newly generated line showed self-compatibility, moderate fitness cost and complete resistance to Zika and dengue infections.Author summaryAedes albopictus, the invasive Asian tiger mosquito, is responsible for numerous outbreaks of important viruses such as dengue and Zika in various regions of the world. The need for alterative control interventions propelled the development of a novel approach that exploits a natural insect symbiont, Wolbachia; when transferred into non-native hosts, these maternally-inherited bacteria are able to interfere with the transmission of mosquito-borne viruses, and also provide reproductive advantages to the host, offering a promising tool for self-sustaining field applications. Currently, several field trials are ongoing for the primary vector of dengue and several other arboviruses, Aedes aegypti, providing encouraging results. In this study, Ae. albopictus has been targeted for a similar approach: this mosquito species naturally carries two strains of Wolbachia. The artificial introduction of a third, non-native strain made this line less able to transmit dengue and Zika viruses and had an impact on its fitness.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 101691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romeo Bellini ◽  
Antonios Michaelakis ◽  
Dušan Petrić ◽  
Francis Schaffner ◽  
Bulent Alten ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 ◽  
pp. 103386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mi Young Noh ◽  
Sung Hyun Kim ◽  
Maureen J. Gorman ◽  
Karl J. Kramer ◽  
Subbaratnam Muthukrishnan ◽  
...  

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