Abstract
La Crosse encephalitis is a viral disease that has emerged in new locations across the Appalachian region of the United States. Conventional wisdom suggests that ongoing emergence of La Crosse virus (LACV) could stem from the invasive Asian tiger (Aedes albopictus) mosquito. Efforts to prove this, however, are complicated by the numerous transmission routes and species interactions involved in LACV dynamics. To analyze LACV transmission by Asian tiger mosquitoes, we constructed epidemiologic models. These models accurately predict empirical infection rates. They do not, however, support the hypothesis that Asian tiger mosquitoes are responsible for the recent emergence of LACV at new foci. Consequently, we conclude that other factors, including different invasive mosquitoes, changes in climate variables, or changes in wildlife densities, should be considered as alternative explanations for recent increases in La Crosse encephalitis.
Highlights
La Crosse encephalitis is a viral disease that has emerged in new locations across the Appalachian region of the United States
Most La Crosse virus (LACV) disease cases were associated with forested areas in the midwestern United States [10], where LACV was maintained through a cycle involving the eastern tree-hole mosquito (Ochlerotatus triseriatus), hereafter called the tree-hole mosquito, and mammals of 3 species: eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus), gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), and fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) [10,11]
We explored LACV dynamics in systems with and without tiger mosquitoes to assess the likelihood that the tiger mosquito is responsible for the emergence of LACV in Appalachia
Summary
Disease translocations across continents are almost always a result of human transport, pathogens that exhibit novel regional spread, increased transmission in preexisting locations, or both are more difficult to explain Such is the case with La Crosse encephalitis, a mosquitoborne viral disease currently emerging in the US Appalachian region (Appalachia, comprising Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia). One potential explanation is the introduction of the invasive Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), hereafter called the tiger mosquito [15] This suggestion is based on the laboratory-demonstrated competence of the tiger mosquito [16,17], isolation of LACV from field-collected tiger mosquito pools [18], observation of LACV-positive tiger mosquitoes at sites of LACV infections of humans [19], and the coincidental link between tiger mosquito invasion and the emergence of LACV in the Appalachian region [12]. We explored LACV dynamics in systems with (native) and without (invaded) tiger mosquitoes to assess the likelihood that the tiger mosquito is responsible for the emergence of LACV in Appalachia
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