Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA.
J Med Entomol. 2024 Nov 14;61(6):1391-1398. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjae098.
Malaria was once endemic in the United States prior to its elimination in 1951. However, due to consistent introductions of travel-associated malaria cases and the presence of several native Anopheles species (Diptera: Culicidae) that are competent vectors of malaria, the potential for local (autochthonous) malaria transmission remains a persistent threat in the United States. While several intermittent cases of local malaria transmission have occurred in the United States in the decades since elimination, the emergence of autochthonous transmission in 4 states in 2023 demonstrates the continued risk for future outbreaks. Moreover, these recent examples also highlight significant gaps in current mosquito surveillance efforts that have predominantly focused on threats of arboviral disease, such that our understanding of Anopheles distributions relies only on historical records and offers limited insight into the ecological factors that influence their abundance. Herein, we summarize mosquito surveillance data collected over the last 20 years (2004-2023) across 59 Iowa counties to provide essential information into the spatial distribution, temporal abundance, and trap preferences of Anopheles species in the state. Further analyses of the 2 most abundant species, Anopheles punctipennis Say and Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say, reveal the additional influence of precipitation and forested habitats in defining An. punctipennis abundance. Together, we believe these results provide an increased understanding of previously neglected Anopheles species that have the potential for autochthonous malaria transmission in Iowa and that can be extended to other regions of the United States to enhance preparedness for future malaria outbreaks.
疟疾在美国曾一度流行，直到 1951 年被消灭。然而，由于不断有旅行相关的疟疾病例传入，以及存在几种能够传播疟疾的本地按蚊（双翅目：蚊科），美国仍存在局部（本土）疟疾传播的潜在威胁。尽管自消灭以来的几十年里，美国曾发生过几起间歇性的局部疟疾传播病例，但 2023 年 4 个州出现本土传播的情况表明，未来仍有爆发的风险。此外，这些最近的例子也突显了当前蚊子监测工作的重大差距，这些工作主要侧重于虫媒病的威胁，因此，我们对按蚊分布的了解仅依赖于历史记录，对影响其丰度的生态因素的了解有限。在此，我们总结了过去 20 年（2004-2023 年）在爱荷华州 59 个县收集的蚊子监测数据，为了解该州按蚊种的空间分布、时间丰度和诱捕偏好提供了重要信息。对 2 种最丰富的物种，即 punctipennis 蚊和 quadrimaculatus 蚊的进一步分析表明，降水和森林生境对 punctipennis 蚊丰度的影响更大。总的来说，我们认为这些结果增加了对以前被忽视的按蚊种的了解，这些按蚊种在爱荷华州有本土传播疟疾的潜力，并可以扩展到美国其他地区，以增强对未来疟疾爆发的准备。
