Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 05, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Department of Microbiology and Virology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Parasit Vectors. 2021 Nov 12;14(1):572. doi: 10.1186/s13071-021-05062-0.
Invasive mosquitoes of the genus Aedes are quickly spreading around the world. The presence of these alien species is concerning for both their impact on the native biodiversity and their high vector competence. The surveillance of Aedes invasive mosquito (AIM) species is one of the most important steps in vector-borne disease control and prevention.
In 2020, the monitoring of AIM species was conducted in five areas (Bratislava, Zvolen, Banská Bystrica, Prešov, Košice) of Slovakia. The sites were located at points of entry (border crossings with Austria and Hungary) and in the urban and rural zones of cities and their surroundings. Ovitraps were used at the majority of sites as a standard method of monitoring. The collected specimens were identified morphologically, with subsequent molecular identification by conventional PCR (cox1) and Sanger sequencing. The phylogenetic relatedness of the obtained sequences was inferred by the maximum likelihood (ML) method. The nucleotide heterogeneity of the Slovak sequences was analysed by the index of disparity.
A bush mosquito, Aedes japonicus japonicus, was found and confirmed by molecular methods in three geographically distant areas of Slovakia-Bratislava, Zvolen and Prešov. The presence of AIM species is also likely in Košice; however, the material was not subjected to molecular identification. The nucleotide sequences of some Slovak strains confirm their significant heterogeneity. They were placed in several clusters on the ML phylogenetic tree. Moreover, Ae. j. japonicus was discovered in regions of Slovakia that are not close to a point of entry, where the mosquitoes could find favourable habitats in dendrothelms in city parks or forests.
Despite being a first record of the Ae. j. japonicus in Slovakia, our study indicates that the established populations already exist across the country, underlining the urgent need for intensified surveillance of AIM species as well as mosquito-borne pathogens.
侵袭性伊蚊属的蚊子正在全球范围内迅速传播。这些外来物种的存在不仅对本地生物多样性造成影响，而且其高传播媒介能力也令人担忧。对侵袭性伊蚊（AIM）物种的监测是控制和预防虫媒传染病的最重要步骤之一。
2020 年，在斯洛伐克的五个地区（布拉迪斯拉发、日利纳、班斯卡-比斯特里察、普雷绍夫、科希策）进行了 AIM 物种监测。这些地点位于入境点（与奥地利和匈牙利的过境点）以及城市及其周边的城市和农村地区。大多数地点都使用诱卵器作为监测的标准方法。收集的标本通过形态学进行鉴定，随后通过常规 PCR（cox1）和 Sanger 测序进行分子鉴定。通过最大似然（ML）方法推断获得序列的系统发育关系。通过差异指数分析了斯洛伐克序列的核苷酸异质性。
在斯洛伐克的三个地理上相距甚远的地区——布拉迪斯拉发、日利纳和普雷绍夫，发现并通过分子方法证实存在灌木伊蚊，Aedes japonicus japonicus。在科希策也可能存在 AIM 物种；然而，该材料未进行分子鉴定。一些斯洛伐克菌株的核苷酸序列证实其具有显著的异质性。它们在 ML 系统发育树上被放置在几个聚类中。此外，还在斯洛伐克的一些区域发现了 Ae. j. japonicus，这些区域与入境点不接近，蚊子可能在城市公园或森林中的树木中找到有利的栖息地。
尽管这是 Ae. j. japonicus 在斯洛伐克的首次记录，但我们的研究表明，已经在全国范围内存在已建立的种群，这突显了加强对 AIM 物种以及蚊媒病原体监测的迫切需要。
