GC:

S: NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10620433/ (last access: 14 August 2024); CDC – https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/php/toolkit/potential-range-of-aedes.html (last access: 14 August 2024).

N: 1. Aedes aegypti (/ˈiːdiːz/ from Greek αηδής: “hateful” and /aɪˈdʒɛpti/ from Latin, meaning “of Egypt”).

• In 1757, Fredrik Hasselqvist (a protégé of Carl Linnaeus) first described a mosquito collected in Egypt as Culex (Latin for “gnat”) aegypti (Figure), noting as the most salient feature the “glistening white” rings on the legs. Aedes (Greek for “unpleasant”) aegypti is the principal vector of several human diseases, including chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever, and Zika. Yellow fever virus was among the first human viral pathogens to be discovered, and the US Army Yellow Fever Commission’s work showing that Ae. aegypti (also known as the “yellow fever mosquito”) was the principal vector remains one of the cornerstones of medical virology and tropical medicine.
• Ae. aegypti arrived in the New World shortly after Europeans, transported on ships, where conditions selected for the anthropophilic Ae. aegypti subsp. aegypti. (Forest-breeding zoophagous Ae. aegypti subsp. formosus are still found in sub-Saharan Africa.) From the New World, Ae. aegypti spread across the Pacific to Asia and Australia.
  

2. Species name/classification: Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti.
Common name: Yellow fever mosquito.
Synonyms and other name in use: Stegomyia aegypti.

3. The invasive success of Ae. aegypti has largely been due to international travel and trade. Historically, Ae. aegypti has moved from continent to continent via ships and was previously established in southern Europe from the late 18th to the mid-20th century. Its disappearance from the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Macaronesian biogeographical region (Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores) is not well understood [1,2]. It has since recolonised Madeira [3], reappeared in parts of southern Russia and Georgia (Krasnodar Krai and Abkhazia) [4], and reportedly been introduced into the Netherlands [5], Canary Islands [6,7] and Cyprus [8]. VectorNet field studies have shown the species to be widespread across extended areas of Georgia, including the capital city, Tbilisi, and it has also spread into north-eastern Türkiye [9]. Nowadays it is one of the most widespread mosquito species globally. If Ae. aegypti  is introduced into southern Europe, there are no climatic or environmental reasons as to why it could not survive [10,11]. Dispersal via shipping (ferries) from Madeira is still thought to represent the greatest risk for the introduction of this mosquito into Europe. Although its global establishment is currently restricted due to its intolerance to temperate winters [13], over the past 30 years there has been an increase in its distribution worldwide [14].

4. Ecological plasticity

Ae. aegypti  thrives in densely populated areas without reliable water supplies, waste management and sanitation [15]. It is suggested that Ae. aegypti evolved its domestic behaviour in West Africa, and its widespread colonisation and distribution across the tropics led to highly efficient inter-human transmission of viruses, such as dengue [16]. This domestic behaviour can provide protection from adverse environmental conditions (as it rests indoors) and offer numerous habitats suitable as oviposition sites, but also makes it vulnerable to (indoor) vector control measures [14].

5. Biting and disease risk

Aedes aegypti is a known vector of several viruses including yellow fever virus, dengue virus chikungunya virus and Zika virus. In Europe, imported cases infected with these viruses are reported every year [17,18]. Therefore, the potential establishment of this mosquito in Europe raises concerns about autochthonous transmission of these arboviruses [1-3,9,12,19], particularly in southern Europe where climatic conditions are most suitable for the re-establishment of the species. In 2012, a large outbreak of dengue fever, associated with Ae. aegypti, occurred in the Portuguese Autonomous Region of Madeira (on the African tectonic plate) [20]. The epidemic started in October 2012 and by early January 2013 more than 2 200 cases of dengue fever had been reported, with an additional 78 cases reported among European travellers returning from the island [21].

6. Aedes aegypti.

• Latin: Culex aegypti, Stegomyia aegypti.
• Common name: yellowfever mosquito or yellow fever mosquito.
• An insect (order Diptera) of the family Culicidae.
• Aedes aegypti is a vector of dengue fever, Chikungunya, Zika fever, and yellow fever viruses.

S: 1. Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_aegypti (last access: 14 August 2024); NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5038420/ (last access: 14 August 2024). 2 to 5. ECDC – https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/disease-vectors/facts/mosquito-factsheets/aedes-aegypti (last access: 14 August 2024). 6. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=AEDES+AEGYPTI&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 14 August 2024).

SYN:
S:

CR: Aedes japonicus, chikungunya, culicine mosquito, dengue, dengue virus, insect, mosquito, Stegomyia albopicta, Toxorhynchites rutilus, yellow fever, Zika virus, Zika virus disease.