Back to Where It Was First Described: Vectors of Sylvatic Yellow Fever Transmission in the 2017 Outbreak in Espírito Santo, Brazil.

Evidence of sylvatic yellow fever was first reported in Atlantic Forest areas in Espírito Santo, Brazil, during a yellow fever virus (YFV) outbreak in 1931. An entomological survey was conducted in six forest sites during and after an outbreak reported ~80 years after the last case in the area. Among 10,658 mosquitoes of 78 species, Haemagogus leucocelaenus, and Hg. janthinomys/capricornii were considered the main vectors as they had a relatively high abundance, co-occurred in essentially all areas, and showed high YFV infection rates. Sabethes chloropterus, Sa. soperi, Sa. identicus, Aedes aureolineatus, and Shannoniana fluviatilis may have a secondary role in transmission. This is the first report of Sa. identicus, Ae. aureolineatus, and Sh. fluviatilis infected with YFV. Our study emphasizes the importance of entomological monitoring and maintenance of high vaccination coverage in receptive areas to YFV transmission.

ANIMAIS PEÇONHENTOS: INVERTEBRADOS AQUÁTICOS / VENOMOUS ANIMALS: AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES / ANIMALES VENENOSOS: INVERTEBRADOS ACUÁTICOS

Os acidentes com animais invertebrados aquáticos constituem um problema de saúde pública pouco discutido, e desta forma, o conhecimento sobre os mesmos deve ser incentivado para direcionar as estratégias de assistência, bem como divulgação com objetivo educativo. Diante da escassez das informações, apesar da frequente ocorrência de casos em um país com grande área litorânea e com ampla malha hídrica de água doce, faz-se necessário a atenção para os acidentes, incluindo, os processos alérgicos/patológicos causados por esponjas de água doce, quase sempre negligenciados, em especial no bioma Amazônico.

Accidents with aquatic invertebrates are a public health problem that is not discussed, but knowledge about them should be encouraged to guide the assistance strategies as well as dissemination for educational purposes. In view of the scarcity of information, despite the frequent occurrence of cases in a country with a large coastal area, and with a large fresh water network, it is necessary to pay attention to accidents, including allergic / pathological processes caused by sponges of Freshwater, almost always neglected especially in the Amazonian biome.

Los accidentes con animales invertebrados acuáticos son un problema de salud pública rara vez se discute, pero el conocimiento sobre ellos deben ser alentados a dirigir las estrategias de asistencia, así como la difusión de un objetivo educativo. Dada la escasez de información, a pesar de la frecuente aparición de casos en un país con una gran zona costera con una amplia malla de agua dulce del agua, es necesario atención a accidentes, incluyendo los procesos alérgicos / patológicos producidos por la esponja de agua dulce, a menudo descuidado especialmente en el bioma amazónico.

Seasonal Differences in Density But Similar Competitive Impact of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) on Aedes aegypti (L.) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Previous studies have shown that the negative effects of density of Ae. albopictus on Ae. aegypti exceed those of Ae. aegypti on Ae. albopictus for population growth, adult size, survivorship, and developmental rate. This competitive superiority has been invoked to explain the displacement of Ae. aegypti by Ae. albopictus in the southeastern USA. In Brazil, these species coexist in many vegetated suburban and rural areas. We investigated a related, but less-well-studied question: do effects of Ae. albopictus on Ae. aegypti larval development and survival occur under field conditions at realistic densities across multiple seasons in Brazil? We conducted additive competition experiments in a vegetated area of Rio de Janeiro where these species coexist. We tested the hypothesis that Ae. aegypti (the focal species, at a fixed density) suffers negative effects on development and survivorship across a gradient of increasing densities of Ae. albopictus (the associate species) in three seasons. The results showed statistically significant effects of both season and larval density on Ae. aegypti survivorship, and significant effects of season on development rate, with no significant season-density interactions. Densities of Aedes larvae in these habitats differed among seasons by a factor of up to 7x. Overall, Spring was the most favorable season for Ae. aegypti survivorship and development. Results showed that under natural conditions the negative competitive effects of Ae. albopictus on Ae. aegypti were expressed primarily as lower survivorship. Coexistence between Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in vegetated areas is likely affected by seasonal environmental differences, such as detrital resource levels or egg desiccation, which can influence competition between these species. Interactions between these Aedes are important in Brazil, where both species are well established and widely distributed and vector dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses.

Epidemic and Endemic Malaria Transmission Related to Fish Farming Ponds in the Amazon Frontier.

Fish farming in the Amazon has been stimulated as a solution to increase economic development. However, poorly managed fish ponds have been sometimes associated with the presence of Anopheles spp. and consequently, with malaria transmission. In this study, we analyzed the spatial and temporal dynamics of malaria in the state of Acre (and more closely within a single county) to investigate the potential links between aquaculture and malaria transmission in this region. At the state level, we classified the 22 counties into three malaria endemicity patterns, based on the correlation between notification time series. Furthermore, the study period (2003-2013) was divided into two phases (epidemic and post-epidemic). Higher fish pond construction coincided both spatially and temporally with increased rate of malaria notification. Within one malaria endemic county, we investigated the relationship between the geolocation of malaria cases (2011-2012) and their distance to fish ponds. Entomological surveys carried out in these ponds provided measurements of anopheline abundance that were significantly associated with the abundance of malaria cases within 100 m of the ponds (P < 0.005; r = 0.39). These results taken together suggest that fish farming contributes to the maintenance of high transmission levels of malaria in this region.