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Letter
First Evidence of Aedes
albopictus (Skuse) in Southern Chiapas, Mexico
Mauricio Casas-Martínez* and José Luis Torres-Estrada*
*Centro de Investigación de Paludismo/Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública,
Chiapas, México
Suggested citation for this article: Casas-Martínez
M, Torres-Estrada JL. First evidence of Aedes albopictus (Skuse)
in Southern Chiapas, Mexico. Emerg Infect Dis [serial online] 2003 May
[date cited]. Available from: URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no5/02-0678.htm
To the Editor: The mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894)
was first identified in the Americas in Texas in 1985 (1,2).
That year, this newly introduced species had dispersed widely in Texas
and was implicated in the transmission of dengue virus (3).
Later, the first states in Mexico that were infested by Ae. albopictus
were along the northern Mexican border: Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas
(4,5; J.P. Martínez-Muñoz, thesis). In 1997, this species
was reported farther south in Veracruz (6). Although
Ae. albopictus was expected to spread to southernmost Mexico, this
mosquito has never been reported there until now. We have confirmed Ae.
albopictus in the city limits of Tapachula, southern Chiapas, Mexico.
On September 13, 2002, one of the authors, who resides in Tapachula,
was bitten by a mosquito. He collected the specimen, which was later identified
as Ae. albopictus by the Centro de Investigación de Paludismo (CIP).
Nearby larval habitats were then comprehensively searched to collect the
immature stages of the species; the sampling area was located at 14° 55'
22.5" north and 92°15' 05.7" west at an altitude of 220 m along
the periphery of Tapachula. We found the following containers with larval
stages of mosquitos: five water containers, two discarded tires (containing
300–3,000 mL of water), one thermal bottle (250 mL), one plastic bottle
(50 mL), and one bucket (2,500 mL). Larvae were placed in plastic bags
and transported to CIP laboratories, where they were allowed to emerge
to adults during 17 days. The fourth instar larval and pupal exuvias were
fixed and identified to species according to Darsie (7)
and Superintendência de Campanhas de Saúde Pública (8).
Twenty-five female and male Ae. albopictus from these collections
are available from CIP laboratory upon request.
Additional field collections are being conducted to establish the distribution
range of this species along the Chiapas coastal plain, to determinate
the entomologic levels of infestation, and to determine its susceptibility
to insecticides. Considering the epidemiologic relevance of this discovery,
we have notified the proper health authorities to take necessary control
measures to reduce the possibility of increased dengue transmission and
to prevent other arboviruses, such as West Nile virus (9),
from being spread by this new species in southern Mexico.
References
- Centers for Disease Control. Aedes
albopictus introduction—Texas. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1986;35:141–2.
- Centers for Disease Control. Aedes
albopictus infestation—United States, Brazil. MMWR Morb Mortal
Wkly Rep 1986;35:493–5.
- Moore CG, Francy DB, Eliason DA, Monath TP. Aedes
albopictus in the United States: rapid spread of a potential disease
vector. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 1988;4:356–61.
- Ibáñez-Bernal S, Martínez-Campos C. Aedes
albopictus in México. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 1994;10:231–2.
- Rodríguez-Tovar ML, Ortega-Martínez MG. Aedes
albopictus in Muzquiz City, Coahuila, México. J Am Mosq Control
Assoc 1994;10:587.
- Secretaría de Salud. 2000. Available from: URL: http://portal.ssaver.gob.mx/servlet/page?_pageid=137,155,471&_dad=ssaver&_schema=SSAVER
- Darsie RF Jr. The
identification of Aedes albopictus in the neartic region.
J Am Mosq Control Assoc 1986;2:336–40.
- Superintendência de Campanhas de Saúde Pública. Resumo dos principias
caracteres morfológicos diferenciais do Aedes aegypti e do Aedes
albopictus. Brasilia: SUCAM/Min. da Saúde; 1989.
- Holick J, Kyle A, Ferraro W, Delaney RR, Iwaseczk M. Discovery
of Aedes albopictus infected with West Nile virus in southeastern
Pennsylvania. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 2002;18:131.
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