Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Department of International and Global Studies, Mercer University, Macon, GA, USA.
Sci Rep. 2022 Feb 8;12(1):2143. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-06294-5.
Aedes albopictus is a competent vector of several arboviruses that has spread throughout the United States over the last three decades. With the emergence of Zika virus in the Americas in 2015-2016 and an increased need to understand the current distributions of Ae. albopictus in the US, we initiated surveillance efforts to determine the abundance of invasive Aedes species in Iowa. Here, we describe surveillance efforts from 2016 to 2020 in which we detect stable and persistent populations of Aedes albopictus in three Iowa counties. Based on temporal patterns in abundance and genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes between years, our data support that Ae. albopictus are overwintering and have likely become established in the state. The localization of Ae. albopictus predominantly in areas of urbanization, and noticeable absence in rural areas, suggests that these ecological factors may contribute to overwintering success. Together, these data document the establishment of Ae. albopictus in Iowa and their expansion into the Upper Midwest, where freezing winter temperatures were previously believed to limit their spread. With impending climate change, our study provides evidence for the further expansion of Ae. albopictus into temperate regions of the United States resulting in increased risks for vector-borne disease transmission.
白纹伊蚊是几种虫媒病毒的有效载体，在过去三十年中已遍布美国。随着寨卡病毒于 2015-2016 年在美洲的出现，以及人们对了解美国目前白纹伊蚊分布情况的需求增加，我们开始进行监测，以确定爱荷华州入侵的伊蚊种类的丰度。在这里，我们描述了 2016 年至 2020 年的监测工作，在此期间，我们在爱荷华州的三个县检测到了白纹伊蚊的稳定且持续存在的种群。根据丰度的时间模式和多年来线粒体 DNA 单倍型的遗传分析，我们的数据支持白纹伊蚊越冬并可能在该州定居的观点。白纹伊蚊主要定殖在城市化地区，而在农村地区明显不存在，这表明这些生态因素可能有助于越冬成功。这些数据共同证明了白纹伊蚊在爱荷华州的建立及其向中西部北部的扩展，以前人们认为那里的冬季严寒会限制其传播。随着即将发生的气候变化，我们的研究为白纹伊蚊进一步扩展到美国的温带地区提供了证据，这将增加虫媒疾病传播的风险。
