On the Range of Action of Adult <i>Culex pipiens s.l.</i>

Abstract

Mosquitoes are an interesting topic due to their medical importance, as they play an active role in the transmission of many pathogens and parasites, acting as vectors for various pathologies that are deadly to humans, such as dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, West Nile virus, encephalitis and malaria, among many others that are less common. In terms of morbidity and mortality caused by vector-borne diseases, mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals for humanity and, although they also play a role in the ecosystem as a food source for other organisms, their importance for public health cannot be overlooked. As highly efficient vectors, they put more than three billion people at risk, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions as well as in Europe, since heat waves and flooding are becoming more frequent and severe, and summers are getting longer and warmer, accelerating mosquito development, biting rates, and the incubation of the pathogens within their bodies. Female mosquitoes bite to acquire proteins for the development of their ovaries and eggs and, in the process, acquire pathogens and/or parasites from one vertebrate host and transmit them to another, usually after a short period of replication. Three of their four life stages are lived in still freshwater, so it is crucial to understand their range of action when they reach adulthood and leave the water, in order to plan and implement local prevention measures. A set of georeferenced abundance data collected in mainland Portugal over seven years was linked to cartographed water bodies in a geographic information system to estimate the distances at which Culex pipiens s.l. had a significant presence, with criteria based on the size of the catches. The result allows for an estimate of the fly range of those mosquitoes, which can be used to focus countermeasures.