Abstract
Aedes mosquitoes are vectors of several emerging diseases and are spreading worldwide. We investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) mosquito trap captures in Brownsville, TX, using high-resolution land cover, socioeconomic, and meteorological data. We modeled mosquito trap counts using a Bayesian hierarchical mixed-effects model with spatially correlated residuals. The models indicated an inverse relationship between temperature and mosquito trap counts for both species, which may be due to the hot and arid climate of southern Texas. The temporal trend in mosquito populations indicated Ae. aegypti populations peaking in the late spring and Ae. albopictus reaching a maximum in winter. Our results indicated that seasonal weather variation, vegetation height, human population, and land cover determine which of the two Aedes species will predominate.
Highlights
Aedes mosquitoes are vectors of several emerging diseases and are spreading worldwide
Autochthonous Zika transmission was not reported in the Western hemisphere until 2015 when cases were detected in South America and Central America and subsequently in the United States beginning in 2016 (Pan American Health Organization 2017)
Aedes aegypti have been present in the Western hemisphere since the 16th century when they were introduced by trans-Atlantic trade (Chadee et al 1998), whereas Ae. albopictus were first detected in the United States in Texas in 1985 and probably arrived in used tires from Asia (Sprenger and Wuithiranyagool 1986, Hawley et al 1987)
Summary
Aedes mosquitoes are vectors of several emerging diseases and are spreading worldwide. Chikungunya spread with similar rapidity, with first detection in 2013 in Saint Martin leading to nearly 1 million cases in the Western hemisphere in the subsequent year and quickly spreading throughout the Americas, including autochthonous cases in Florida (Hamer and Chen 2014) None of these diseases have an effective vaccine, and prevention efforts focus on control of Aedes mosquitoes. We worked with the Brownsville Public Health Department to model Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus populations across their downtown area based on sampling from 80 mosquito traps across the city in 2017, and a range of ecological, socioeconomic, and meteorological predictors, with the goal of creating a risk map that would help target vector control resources
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