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Publications (218)
Background:
Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, has become a prevalent pest in Italy, causing severe nuisance and posing a threat of transmission of arboviruses introduced by infected travelers. In this study, we investigated the influence of weather parameters on the seasonal population density of Aedes albopictus.
Methods:
A Bayesian a...
Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito and Aedes albopictus, the tiger mosquito, continue to expand their geographical distribution, reshaping the European epidemiological risks for mosquito-borne diseases. The reintroduction of Aedes aegypti near the airport and port in Larnaka and the detection of Aedes albopictus near the marina and old port o...
The "Sterile Insect Technique" (SIT), a promising method to control Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, is gaining increasing interest. Recently, the role of microbiota in mosquito fitness received attention, but the link between microbiota and larval diet in mass rearing programs for SIT remains largely unexplored. We characterized the mic...
Improvements are needed in mosquito mass-rearing to effectively implement the sterile insect technique (SIT). However, managing this technique is challenging and resource intensive. SIT relies on mass rearing, sterilization, and release of adult males to reduce field populations. Maintaining an acceptable level of female presence, who can transmit...
The continuously expanding distribution of sand flies, proven vectors of Leishmania and of several phleboviruses, is a growing public health issue in Europe. Especially in Italy, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is occurring with increasing incidence northward, in previously non-endemic provinces. Around the globe, disease elimination efforts largely fo...
Emilia-Romagna region, Italy, conduct standardized Aedes albopictus monitoring by ovitraps during summer seasons in all nine provinces of the region since 2008. Starting from 2017 the number of monitoring ovitraps was reduced from about 2650 (involving about 240 municipalities) to 755 positioned in the main cities only. Before being added to the da...
Mosquito management programs in the urban environment of Italian cities mainly rely on larval control with conventional insecticides, primarily targeting the road drains that constitute the principal mosquito breeding sites encountered in public. The repeated utilization of synthetic insecticides may have adverse effects on non-targets and lead to...
The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a biologically based method of pest control, which relies on the mass production, sterilization, and release of sterile males of the target species. Since females can transmit viruses, it is important to develop a mass rearing system to produce a large number of males with a low presence of females. We evaluate...
We reported in this work the detection of three Arboviruses (Arthropod-borne viruses) in mosquitoes collected in Emilia-Romagna in 2021. In addition to West Nile and Usutu viruses, which were reported from more than 10 years in the study area, we detected and isolated Tahyna virus (TAHV).
The pathogen transmitting Aedes albopictus mosquito is spreading rapidly in Europe, putting millions of humans and animals at risk. This species is well-established in Albania since its first detection in 1979. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is increasingly gaining momentum worldwide as a component of area-wide-integrated pest management. Howev...
Mark–release–recapture (MRR) trials have been conducted in Northern Italy to evaluate the capacity of radio-substerilized Aedes albopictus males to survive, disperse, and engage in mating in the field. Two MRR sessions with the human landing collection method (HLC) were conducted with the simultaneous release of irradiated males marked with four di...
Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse, 1895) is an invasive important medical and veterinary pest species. The sterile insect technique (SIT) involves the mass rearing of males, and their sterilization and release into the habitat to compete with wild males. Our research objective was to compare the effectiveness of three larval diet recipes (IAEA-BY...
Culex pipiens (Linnaeus), one of the most abundant mosquito species in Europe, plays a crucial role in the endemic transmission of West Nile virus and caused the large outbreak with >1600 human cases in 2018. Although evidence of resistance to pyrethroids has been reported for Cx. pipiens populations from Spain and Greece, resistance monitoring has...
Genetic based mosquito control methods have been gaining ground in recent years for their potential to achieve effective suppression or replacement of vector populations without hampering environments or causing any public health risk. These methods require the mass rearing of the target species in large facilities sized to produce millions of ster...
Abstract Background The invasive species Aedes albopictus, commonly known as the Asian tiger mosquito, has undergone extreme range expansion by means of steady introductions as blind passengers in vehicles traveling from the Mediterranean to south-west Germany. The more than 25 established populations in the State of Baden-Württemberg, Palatine and...
BACKGROUND
Insecticide resistance is the major threat to vector control and for the prevention of vector-borne diseases. Because almost all insecticides used against insect vectors are or have been used in agriculture, a connection between agricultural insecticide use and resistance in insect vectors has been hypothesized. However, it is challengin...
In the summer of 2007, an outbreak of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) started in the urban areas of Castiglione di Cervia (Latitude 44°15′35.70" N, Longitude 12°15′47.08" E) and Castiglione di Ravenna (Latitude 44°15′33.97" N, Longitude 12°15′17.97" E), Italy, with secondary foci in other Emilia-Romagna urban areas. At the end of the outbreak a total of...
In the last decades, the colonization of Mediterranean Europe and of other temperate regions by Aedes albopictus created an unprecedented nuisance problem in highly infested areas and new public health threats due to the vector competence of the species. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) and the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) are insecticide-...
Background
The invasive species Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, has undergone an extreme expansion by steady introductions as blind passengers in vehicles from the Mediterranean to South-West Germany. The more than 15 established populations in the State of Baden-Württemberg and Palatine (South-West Germany) have become a major nuisance...
Insecticide resistance is an informative model for studying the appearance of adaptive traits. Simultaneously, understanding how many times resistance mutations originate is essential to design effective resistance management. In the mosquito Culex pipiens, target–site resistance to the insecticide diflubenzuron (DFB) has been recently found in Ita...
Background
Aedes albopictus is currently the most widespread invasive mosquito species in the world. It has paramount medical importance since females are efficient vectors of important viruses affecting humans. The development of alternative control strategies to complement control measures has become an imperative and involves the Sterile Insect...
The recent spread of invasive mosquito species, such as Aedes albopictus and the seasonal sporadic transmission of autochthonous cases of arboviral diseases (e.g., dengue, chikungunya, Zika) in temperate areas, such as Europe and North America, highlight the importance of effective mosquito-control interventions to reduce not only nuisance, but als...
The sterile insect technique is familiar to agricultural pest management and is now being increasingly applied to mosquitoes as part of integrated vector management programs. This review leans on a growing literature and on the experience of its many authors to describe the key steps, and the challenges to be surmounted, in order to design and exec...
The colonization of Mediterranean Europe and of other temperate regions by Aedes albopictus created in the last decades an unprecedented nuisance problem in highly infested areas, as well as a new public health threat due to the species competence to transmit exotic arboviruses, such as dengue, chikungunya and zika. The Sterile Insect Technique (SI...
Background
In recent years the invasive species Aedes albopictus, known as the Asian tiger mosquito, has undergone an extreme expansion by steady introductions as blind passengers in vehicles from the Mediterranean to South-West Germany. Nowadays, more than 15 established populations are known in the State of Baden-Württemberg and Palatine (South-W...
Aedes albopictus, an invasive mosquito species, is currently well established in many European countries, posing high risks to human health. A preliminary trial using repetitive releases of irradiated sterile male mosquitoes was designed, implemented and evaluated for the first time in Greece. The main scope of this trial was to investigate the eff...
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genotyping of mutations in the voltage-sensitive sodium channel (vssc) associated with resistance to pyrethroid insecticides is widely used and represents a potential early warning and monitoring system for insecticide resistance arising in mosquito populations, which are vectors of different human pathogens. I...
The relevant ecological changes due to the anthropological pressure on the planet is causing reactions in the biological systems, which we must understand and characterize at the local scale to assist the adoption of suitable decisions in the public health risk management. The project presented in this paper is focused on the vector-borne diseases,...
The monitoring of Aedes urban species is usually conducted by ovitraps, which can provide a good estimate of population density at low cost and relatively easy management. When the monitoring network is managed by many operators, as in the case of the Emilia-Romagna regional plan, it becomes necessary to develop a quality control methodology capabl...
Vector-borne diseases account for 17% of infectious diseases, leading to more than one million deaths each year. Mosquitoes are responsible for 90% of the casualties and alternative control methods to insecticides are urgently needed, especially against Aedes vectors. Aedes albopictus is a particularly important species, causing major public health...
Vector-borne diseases account for 17% of infectious diseases, leading to more than one million deaths each year. Mosquitoes are responsible for 90% of the casualties and alternative control methods to insecticides are urgently needed, especially against Aedes vectors. Aedes albopictus is a particularly important species, causing major public health...
Background
Diflubenzuron (DFB) is one of the most used insecticides in mosquito larval control including that of Culex pipiens, the proven vector of the recent West Nile Virus epidemics in Europe. Two mutations (I1043L and I1043M) in the chitin synthase (CHS) putative binding site of DFB have been previously reported in Cx. pipiens from Italy and a...
With several human cases reported annually since 2008 and the unapparent risk of infection of blood donors, the West Nile virus (WNV) is emerging as an important health issue in Europe. Italy, as well as other European countries, experienced a recrudescence of the virus circulation in 2018, which led to an increased number of human cases. An integr...
Aedes albopictus, also known as the “Asian Tiger Mosquito”, is an invasive mosquito species to Europe causing high concern in public health due to its severe nuisance and its vectorial capacity for pathogens such as dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika. Consequently, the responsible authorities implement management activities to reduce its po...
Standard Operational Procedures – Public tender template for the selection of Pest Control Operators, as an Annex to the article "Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)", published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2020.
Standard Operational Procedures for bioassays, as an Annex to the article "Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)", published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2020.
Standard Operational Procedures for quality control on emergency treatments, as an Annex to the article "Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)", published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2020.
Standard Operational Procedures for quality control on larval treatment of road drains, as an Annex to the article "Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)", published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2020.
Standard Operational Procedures for emergency vector control in case of dengue, chikungunya and Zika detection, as an Annex to the article "Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)", published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2020.
Standard Operational Procedures – Template for mayor ordinance, as an Annex to the article "Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)", published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2020.
Standard Operational Procedures for quality control of Aedes albopictus monitoring, as an Annex to the article "Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)", published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2020.
Standard Operational Procedures for egg counting, as an Annex to the article "Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)", published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2020.
Standard Operational Procedures for ovitrap field management, as an Annex to the article "Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus)", published in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2020.
The accelerating rate of outbreaks from mosquito borne diseases are urging the development of updated and effective tools for the surveillance of insect populations and their larval habitats. Harmonized field protocols help to build a comprehensive picture on species-specific vector ecology and generate important knowledge for implementing coordina...
Background
West Nile virus (WNV) transmission was much greater in 2018 than in previous seasons in Europe. Focusing on Emilia-Romagna region (northern Italy), we analyzed detailed entomological and epidemiological data collected in 2013–2018 to quantitatively assess environmental drivers of transmission and explore hypotheses to better understand w...
Invasive species can encounter environments different from their source populations, which may trigger rapid adaptive changes after introduction (niche shift hypothesis). To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether postintroduction evolution is corre‐ lated with contrasting environmental conditions between the European invasive and source rang...
BACKGROUND
The highly invasive mosquito species, Aedes albopictus, has become a major health concern in temperate areas due to its role as vector of exotic arboviruses. Pyrethroid insecticides represent the main tools for limiting the circulation of such mosquito‐borne viruses. The present work aimed at extending previous reports on phenotypic pyre...
Insecticide resistance is a major threat for vector control and prevention of mosquito borne diseases. In the Culex pipiens mosquitoes, resistance against diflubenzuron (DFB) was firstly detected in Ravenna (Emilia-Romagna region, Northern Italy), in 2015. The resistant phenotypes were associated with two mutations, I1043 M and I1043 L, at the amin...
IntroductionAedes albopictus (Skuse) is an important vector of arboviral diseases, including dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus disease. Monitoring insecticide resistance and mechanisms by which the mosquito develops resistance is crucial to minimise disease transmission.AimTo determine insecticide resistance status and mechanisms in Ae. albopictus...
Background
We explored the possibility to improve male/female separation (sexing) in Aedes albopictus by selection of two strains, one toward increasing sex dimorphism and another toward increasing protandry. In the laboratory we selected and crossed small males with large females to exploit dimorphism, and early pupating males with late pupating f...
Contemporary legislation tends to increase limitation on the use of all synthetic pesticides, promoting bio-pesticides as a safer alternative. Bio-prospecting efforts for bio-pesticides provide results, which rarely reach the industry. Present essay elaborates on our efforts to chart the path from the laboratory bench to field assessment. Eight Med...
Conventional ground larval mosquito control operations have some limitations particularly in wetlands and agricultural areas, due to vegetation and accessibility constraints, which have a major impact on their effectiveness. This is why in some areas of Po river Delta (Municipality of Comacchio, Emilia-Romagna region, Italy), a preliminary test was...
The sand flies are the biological vectors of a variety of viruses belonging to the Phlebovirus genus. As several of these viruses, like Toscana virus, are important agents of diseases in humans, the definition the phleboviruses circulating in a particular area is an important health issue. This work presents results obtained between 2013 and 2016,...
Cannibalism is a commonly observed phenomenon in arthropod species having relevant consequences for population dynamics and individual fitness. It is a context-dependent behaviour and an understanding of the factors affecting cannibalism rate is crucial to highlight its ecological relevance. In mosquitoes, cannibalism between larval stages has been...
Larval movements.
Observations of the time spent by the Aedes albopictus larvae at the top and the bottom in each container.
(DOCX)
A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.
Background:
Different phleboviruses are important pathogens for humans; most of these viruses are transmitted by sand flies. An increasing number of new phleboviruses have been reported over the past decade, especially in Mediterranean countries, mainly via their detection in sand flies.
Results:
At least five different phleboviruses co-circulat...
Background:
Aedes albopictus has spread during the last decades all over the world. This has increased significantly the risk of exotic arbovirus transmission (e.g. Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika) also in temperate areas, as testified by the Chikungunya 2007- and 2017-outbreaks in north-east and central Italy. Insecticides represent a main tool for...
Since 2013 in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, surveillance information generated in the public health and in the animal health sectors has been shared and used to guide public health interventions to mitigate the risk of West Nile virus (WNV) transmission via blood transfusion. The objective of the current study was to identify and estimate the costs and be...
West Nile neuroivasive disease cases hospitalization dataset.
(XLSX)
Background:
Culex pipiens is the major vector of West Nile virus in Europe, and is causing frequent outbreaks throughout the southern part of the continent. Proper empirical modelling of the population dynamics of this species can help in understanding West Nile virus epidemiology, optimizing vector surveillance and mosquito control efforts. But m...
La Leishmaniosi canina (Lcan) è una zoonosi parassitaria (L. infantum) trasmessa da insetti ematofagi (flebotomi) e il cane ne è il principale serbatoio. L’epidemiologia delle malattie trasmesse da vettori è condizionata da complesse interazioni tra ambiente, patogeno, vettore, uomo e richiede un approccio multidisciplinare integrato.
Dal 2007 in E...
Sand flies surveillance is essential for the risk evaluation of emerging infections caused by protozoa of the Leishmania genus and from viruses belonging to the Phlebovirus genus (family Bunyaviridae) – the most significant group of viruses transmitted by sand flies. Information on distribution, abundance and population dynamic of the sand flies in...
2014 a Web-Based Geographic Information System (Web-GIS) that enable storage and processing of spatial monitoring and public health data was adopted in the frame of the Aedes albopictus management of Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy. GEO-ZTONLINE.IT was developed using the regional Content Management System (CMS) Moka (www.mokagis.it) based on ArcGIS S...
Culex pipiens mosquitoes cause severe nuisance and transmit human diseases including West Nile. Vector control by insecticides is the main tool to prevent these diseases and diflubenzuron is one of the most effective mosquito larvicides used in many places. Here, high levels of resistance were identified in Cx. pipiens from Italy, with a Resistance...
The research questions target the perception of the current state in mosquito monitoring and control and the readiness for direct involvement by supporting a National System for Monitoring and Control of Mosquitoes and Vector-Borne Diseases (MVBD) in the republic of Montenegro. The area covered by the primary data collection includes all municipali...
The capacity of the released sterile males to survive, disperse, compete with wild males and inseminate wild females is an essential prerequisite to be evaluated in any area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programs including a sterile insect release method. Adequate quality control tests supported by standardized procedures need to be deve...