Update on the composition and distribution of the mosquito fauna (Diptera: Culicidae) in Cabo Verde, a country at risk for mosquito-borne diseases.

Mosquitoes play a critical role as vectors of pathogens affecting both humans and animals. Therefore, understanding their biodiversity and distribution is crucial to developing evidence-based vector control strategies. The current study updated the composition and distribution of mosquito species through a comprehensive survey of all municipalities of Cabo Verde. From October 2017 to September 2018, mosquito larvae and pupae were collected from 814 aquatic habitats. Anopheles gambiae (Giles, 1902) and Culex pipiens (Linnaeus, 1758) complexes were subjected to PCR-based techniques for sibling species identification. Ten mosquito species from 5 genera were identified: Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762), Aedes caspius (Pallas, 1771), Anopheles arabiensis (Patton, 1905), Anopheles pretoriensis (Theobald, 1903), Culex bitaeniorhynchus (Giles, 1901), Cx. pipiens, Culex quinquefasciatus (Say, 1823), Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Giles, 1901), Culiseta longiareolata (Macquart, 1838), and Lutzia tigripes (de Grandpre & de Charmoy, 1901). Santiago Island reported the highest number of species (n = 8). Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus were the most widely distributed species across the country. An. arabiensis was the sole species identified within the An. gambiae complex. The findings from our study will help guide health policy decisions to effectively control mosquito-borne diseases.

Abundance and Updated Distribution of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in Cabo Verde Archipelago: A Neglected Threat to Public Health.

BACKGROUND: Mosquito-borne viruses, such as Zika, dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya, are important causes of human diseases nearly worldwide. The greatest health risk for arboviral disease outbreaks is the presence of the most competent and highly invasive domestic mosquito, Aedes aegypti. In Cabo Verde, two recent arbovirus outbreaks were reported, a dengue outbreak in 2009, followed by a Zika outbreak in 2015. This study is the first entomological survey for Ae. aegypti that includes all islands of Cabo Verde archipelago, in which we aim to evaluate the actual risk of vector-borne arboviruses as a continuous update of the geographical distribution of this species. METHODS: In order to assess its current distribution and abundance, we undertook a mosquito larval survey in the nine inhabited islands of Cabo Verde from November 2018 to May 2019. Entomological larval survey indices were calculated, and the abundance analyzed. We collected and identified 4045 Ae. aegypti mosquitoes from 264 positive breeding sites in 22 municipalities and confirmed the presence of Ae. aegypti in every inhabited island. Results: Water drums were found to be the most prevalent containers (n = 3843; 62.9%), but puddles (n = 27; 0.4%) were the most productive habitats found. The overall average of the House, Container, and Breteau larval indices were 8.4%, 4.4%, and 10.9, respectively. However, 15 out of the 22 municipalities showed that the Breteau Index was above the epidemic risk threshold. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that if no vector control measures are considered to be in place, the risk of new arboviral outbreaks in Cabo Verde is high. The vector control strategy adopted must include measures of public health directed to domestic water storage and management.