Aedes albopictus and other mosquitoes imported in tires into Durban, South Africa.

The results of surveillance for immature stages of mosquitoes in samples of wet tires in 5 consignments imported into Durban from Japan is reported. Three of these consignments contained tires with immatures of Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus and Uranotaenia n. novobscura. The proportions of all the wet tires calculated to contain mosquitoes were 189/1,488 (13%), 20/813 (2.5%) and 13/1,032 (1.3%) which emphasizes the need for effective mosquito control measures to prevent Ae. albopictus escaping from such tires and establishing itself in Durban.