Abstract
Simple SummaryAedes albopictus, also known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is an invasive mosquito well established in Europe, posing high risks of transmission of dengue and chikungunya viruses that are detrimental to human health. The newly invaded areas that experienced no intense mosquito annoyance in the past are now suffering because of the Asian tiger mosquito. Due to the large number of diverse breeding sites and the poor community participation in mosquito habitat elimination programs, traditional control efforts, such as intense chemical control efforts in public areas, have rather low efficacy. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a method of insect control with successful applications against several agricultural insect pests and it has been proposed as a control method against invasive mosquito species. Weekly release of 2280 to 2995 sterile male mosquitoes/hectare resulted in increased levels of egg sterility of Ae. albopictus at a single release site of 5 hectares. This first SIT pilot trial against Ae. albopictus in Greece showed encouraging results that justify the continuation with larger scale trials.Aedes albopictus, an invasive mosquito species, is currently well established in many European countries, posing high risks to human health. A preliminary trial using repetitive releases of irradiated sterile male mosquitoes was designed, implemented and evaluated for the first time in Greece. The main scope of this trial was to investigate the efficacy of sterile insect technique (SIT) on wild population egg hatch rate in Greece using mass-produced sterile male mosquitoes from another country (Italy). The study was conducted in Vravrona area, close to Athens International Airport (Attica Region). The number of eggs laid in ovitraps was similar in all intervention and control plots. However, a significant reduction in egg hatch rate was recorded in the SIT plot in comparison with both control plots starting two weeks after the first release. This trial validates the logistics (transportation, releases handling and monitoring) as a major step towards implementing efficient, environmentally safe control approaches as an additional tool against the invasive Aedes species in Greece and more widely in Europe.
Highlights
The introduction of Aedes invasive mosquito species to new areas increases the nuisance caused by mosquitoes and more importantly the transmission risk of mosquito-borne diseases [1]
Temperature and relative humidity were almost identical in all three plots throughout the field trials period (Figure S1)
Area, a parameter which is difficult to evaluate [16,33]. This first sterile insect technique (SIT) pilot trial against Ae. albopictus in Greece showed encouraging results that justified the continuation with larger pilot trials
Summary
The introduction of Aedes invasive mosquito species to new areas increases the nuisance caused by mosquitoes and more importantly the transmission risk of mosquito-borne diseases [1]. Risks for human health involving Aedes mosquito vectors include chikungunya, dengue and Zika viruses especially in urban areas where the vector as well as human densities are higher [2]. Aedes albopictus is a container-breeding mosquito species mainly developing in urban areas with vegetation. Traditional control efforts using insecticides in public areas have rather low efficacy mainly because of the large number of diverse breeding sites and poor community participation in mosquito habitat elimination programs. Urban areas include a large number of private properties providing a variety of breeding sites which are often not accessible by pest control operators [5]
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