Abstract
The invasive species Aedes albopictus is present in 60% of Brazilian municipalities, including at the interfaces between urban settings and forests that are zoonotic arbovirus hotspots. We investigated Ae. albopictus colonization, adult dispersal and host feeding patterns in the anthropic-natural interface of three forested sites covering three biomes in Brazil in 2016. To evaluate whether an ecological overlap exists between Ae. albopictus and sylvatic yellow fever virus (YFV) in forests, we performed similar investigations in seven additional urban-forest interfaces where YFV circulated in 2017. We found Ae. albopictus in all forested sites. We detected eggs and adults up to 300 and 500 m into the forest, respectively, demonstrating that Ae. albopictus forest colonization and dispersal decrease with distance from the forest edge. Analysis of the host identity in blood-engorged females indicated that they fed mainly on humans and domestic mammals, suggesting rare contact with wildlife at the forest edge. Our results show that Ae. albopictus frequency declines as it penetrates into the forest and highlight its potential role as a bridge vector of zoonotic diseases at the edge of the Brazilian forests studied.
Highlights
The risk of the emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases is high in regions under the influence of tropical forests because these important biodiversity hotspots are undergoing anthropogenic land use changes[1]
Experimental vector competence studies and viral genome detection or isolation in nature indicated that Ae. albopictus can transmit several enzootic arboviruses (e.g., La Crosse Virus, West Nile Virus, Eastern equine encephalomyelitis, Cache Valley Virus, Keystone Virus, Potosi Virus, Tensaw Virus, Chandipura, Jamestown Canyon, Orungo, Rift Valley, Ross River, Oropuche virus, Mayaro virus, and yellow fever virus (YFV)20–35)
Here, we studied the establishment of Ae. albopictus at the edge of and inside Brazilian forests as well as its feeding habits to understand the potential risk of this invading mosquito transferring zoonotic arboviruses to humans
Summary
The risk of the emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases is high in regions under the influence of tropical forests because these important biodiversity hotspots are undergoing anthropogenic land use changes[1]. During the last 35 years, Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) has expanded geographically from Southeast Asia to other continents, withimportant human health consequences and risks related to arbovirus transmission[5,6,7,8,9]. This invasive mosquito species, which was considered sylvatic in its native area, has adapted to human settings (domestication) by exploiting man-made water containers as larval habitats and humans and/or domestic animals as its main blood source[10]. Its vector competence for several pathogens, its opportunistic feeding behavior, and its capacity to colonize urban, rural and natural habitats suggest that Ae. albopictus could be a bridge vector to allow pathogen transfers from animal to human compartments and vice versa[13,36]
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