Host-Feeding Patterns of<i>Aedes albopictus</i>(Diptera: Culicidae) in Relation to Availability of Human and Domestic Animals in Suburban Landscapes of Central North Carolina

Richards, Stephanie L.; Ponnusamy, Loganathan; Unnasch, Thomas R.; Hassan, Hassan K.; Apperson, Charles S.

doi:10.1093/jmedent/43.3.543

Cited by 142 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Our studies detected double blood meals in 6% of the field-collected Ae. albopictus specimens, consistent with the 6% to 10% double blood meal proportion rates reported by others [22], [26], [27], [30], [31]. The capacity for Ae.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…albopictus in temperate areas of USA and Europe [19], [20], [25], [27], [31], [32]. However, unlike most of these studies, we did not document avian-derived blood meals in any of our Ae.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…An additional study in suburban landscapes of North Carolina, USA, reported that Ae. albopictus feeds predominately on mammalian hosts (83%), but also on birds (7%), amphibians (2%), and reptiles (2%) [27]. In Europe, Italian populations of Ae.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Comparative Host Feeding Patterns of the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus, in Urban and Suburban Northeastern USA and Implications for Disease Transmission

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Aedes albopictus is an invasive species which continues expanding its geographic range and involvement in mosquito-borne diseases such as chikungunya and dengue. Host selection patterns by invasive mosquitoes are critically important because they increase endemic disease transmission and drive outbreaks of exotic pathogens. Traditionally, Ae. albopictus has been characterized as an opportunistic feeder, primarily feeding on mammalian hosts but occasionally acquiring blood from avian sources as well. However, limited information is available on their feeding patterns in temperate regions of their expanded range. Because of the increasing expansion and abundance of Ae. albopictus and the escalating diagnoses of exotic pathogens in travelers returning from endemic areas, we investigated the host feeding patterns of this species in newly invaded areas to further shed light on its role in disease ecology and assess the public health threat of an exotic arbovirus outbreak.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe identified the vertebrate source of 165 blood meals in Ae. albopictus collected between 2008 and 2011 from urban and suburban areas in northeastern USA. We used a network of Biogents Sentinel traps, which enhance Ae. albopictus capture counts, to conduct our collections of blooded mosquitoes. We also analyzed blooded Culex mosquitoes collected alongside Ae. albopictus in order to examine the composition of the community of blood sources. We found no evidence of bias since as expected Culex blood meals were predominantly from birds (n = 149, 93.7%) with only a small proportion feeding on mammals (n = 10, 6.3%). In contrast, Aedes albopictus fed exclusively on mammalian hosts with over 90% of their blood meals derived from humans (n = 96, 58.2%) and domesticated pets (n = 38, 23.0% cats; and n = 24, 14.6% dogs). Aedes albopictus fed from humans significantly more often in suburban than in urban areas (χ2, p = 0.004) and cat-derived blood meals were greater in urban habitats (χ2, p = 0.022). Avian-derived blood meals were not detected in any of the Ae. albopictus tested.Conclusions/SignificanceThe high mammalian affinity of Ae. albopictus suggests that this species will be an efficient vector of mammal- and human-driven zoonoses such as La Crosse, dengue, and chikungunya viruses. The lack of blood meals obtained from birds by Ae. albopictus suggest that this species may have limited exposure to endemic avian zoonoses such as St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile virus, which already circulate in the USA. However, growing populations of Ae. albopictus in major metropolitan urban and suburban centers, make a large autochthonous outbreak of an arbovirus such as chikungunya or dengue viruses a clear and present danger. Given the difficulties of Ae. albopictus suppression, we recommend that public health practitioners and policy makers install proactive measures for the imminent mitigation of an exotic pathogen outbreak.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…albopictus in temperate areas of USA and Europe [19], [20], [25], [27], [31], [32]. However, unlike most of these studies, we did not document avian-derived blood meals in any of our Ae.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Comparative Host Feeding Patterns of the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus, in Urban and Suburban Northeastern USA and Implications for Disease Transmission

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…albopictus has a strong affinity for humans, it demonstrates a wide range of host preference [66, 67]. In the absence of humans, it will obtain blood meals from other mammals and non-mammal species including birds and reptiles [68].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A large-scale stochastic spatiotemporal model for Aedes albopictus-borne chikungunya epidemiology

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to humans primarily via the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes. The virus caused a major epidemic in the Indian Ocean in 2004, affecting millions of inhabitants, while cases have also been observed in Europe since 2007. We developed a stochastic spatiotemporal model of Aedes albopictus-borne chikungunya transmission based on our recently developed environmentally-driven vector population dynamics model. We designed an integrated modelling framework incorporating large-scale gridded climate datasets to investigate disease outbreaks on Reunion Island and in Italy. We performed Bayesian parameter inference on the surveillance data, and investigated the validity and applicability of the underlying biological assumptions. The model successfully represents the outbreak and measures of containment in Italy, suggesting wider applicability in Europe. In its current configuration, the model implies two different viral strains, thus two different outbreaks, for the two-stage Reunion Island epidemic. Characterisation of the posterior distributions indicates a possible relationship between the second larger outbreak on Reunion Island and the Italian outbreak. The model suggests that vector control measures, with different modes of operation, are most effective when applied in combination: adult vector intervention has a high impact but is short-lived, larval intervention has a low impact but is long-lasting, and quarantining infected territories, if applied strictly, is effective in preventing large epidemics. We present a novel approach in analysing chikungunya outbreaks globally using a single environmentally-driven mathematical model. Our study represents a significant step towards developing a globally applicable Ae. albopictus-borne chikungunya transmission model, and introduces a guideline for extending such models to other vector-borne diseases.

show abstract

“…mediovittatus resembles that of Ae. albopictus, which is known for its diverse feeding patterns (Niebylski et al 1994, Savage et al 1993, Richards et al 2006). The composition, abundance, and availability (e.g., screening, air conditioning, house construction) of vertebrate hosts influence the observed proportion of host bloodmeals taken by mosquitoes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertebrate Hosts ofAedes aegyptiandAedes mediovittatus(Diptera: Culicidae) in Rural Puerto Rico

et al. 2012

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The distribution of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L.), the main vector of dengue viruses (DENV) worldwide, overlaps with Aedes (Gymnometopa) mediovittatus (Coquillett), the Caribbean treehole mosquito, in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Ae. mediovittatus is a competent vector of DENV with high rates of vertical DENV transmission in the laboratory. This study determined whether Ae. mediovittatus feeds on humans and compared its feeding patterns with co-occurring Ae. aegypti in two rural communities of Puerto Rico. Adult mosquitoes were captured for three consecutive days every week from July 2009 to May 2010 using BG-Sentinel traps with skin lures that were placed in the front yard of houses in both communities. Three methods were used to identify the 756 bloodmeals obtained in this study: a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for humans and dogs targeting cytochrome b; a PCR targeting the 16S rRNA; and a nested PCR targeting cytochrome b. Ae. mediovittatus fed mostly on humans (45–52%) and dogs (28–32%) but also on cats, cows, horses, rats, pigs, goats, sheep, and chickens. Ae. aegypti fed mostly on humans (76–79%) and dogs (18–21%) but also on cats, horses, and chickens. Our results indicate that Ae. mediovittatus may have a relatively high rate of vector–human contact, which might facilitate virus transmission or harborage in rural areas of Puerto Rico.

show abstract

Host-Feeding Patterns ofAedes albopictus(Diptera: Culicidae) in Relation to Availability of Human and Domestic Animals in Suburban Landscapes of Central North Carolina

Cited by 142 publications

References 22 publications

Comparative Host Feeding Patterns of the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus, in Urban and Suburban Northeastern USA and Implications for Disease Transmission

Comparative Host Feeding Patterns of the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus, in Urban and Suburban Northeastern USA and Implications for Disease Transmission

A large-scale stochastic spatiotemporal model for Aedes albopictus-borne chikungunya epidemiology

Vertebrate Hosts ofAedes aegyptiandAedes mediovittatus(Diptera: Culicidae) in Rural Puerto Rico

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About