Seasonal monitoring of Aedes albopictus: practical applications and outcomes

• Main Authors: Stefano Gavaudan, Anna Duranti, Francesca Barchiesi, Sara Ruschioni, Elisa Antognini, Erica Calandri, Paolo Mancini, Paola Riolo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise G. Caporale 2014-06-01
• Series: Veterinaria Italiana
• Subjects: Aedes albopictus; Arbovirus; Mosquito; Ovitrap; Pest control; Surveillance system; Vector monitoring.; Vector monitoring

The introduction of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes (Stegomya) albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) into temperate regions poses serious concerns for the risk of the spreading of arboviral epidemics, as confirmed by the Chikungunya fever outbreak in Italy. This article describes the implementation and the results of a strategy for the pest management implemented over 4 years in Pesaro (a city in the Marche region, Italy). The strategy used 60 integrated wide‑sized ovitraps for monitoring purposes. Twenty-day larvicide-based treatment cycles were implemented for the manholes of the urban area and also the inhabitants were involved in pest control relating to their own properties. It was observed that the weekly median of eggs laid decreased consistently from 2008 to 2011, indicating the good performance of the vector control and a reduction in the related epidemics risk.