Rev. Saúde Pública vol.37 número5

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Rev Saúde Pública 2003; 37(5) Occu r r en ce of Aed es al b op i ct u si n an u r b an ar ea

www.f sp .u sp .b r / r sp Fé NF et al

Revista de Saúde Pública

I SSN 0034- 8910 versão im pressa

Rev Saúde Pública 2003; 37(5)

Registration of the ocurrence of

Aedes albopictus

in an urban

z one in Manaus, Amaz onas, Braz il

Nelson Ferreira Féa_{, Maria das Graças Vale Barbosa}b_, _{Wilson Duart e Alecrim}c_{and Marcus Vinit ius de}

Farias Guerraa

a

Fundação de Medicina Tropical do Am azonas. Manaus, AM, Brazil. bUniversidade Federal do

Am azonas. Manaus, AM, Brazil. c_{Universidade do Est ado do Am azonas. Manaus, AM, Brazil}

ABSTRACT

I nform at ion is available regarding t he presence of Aedes albopict us in several m unicipalit ies of t he St at e of Am azonas. Specim ens of t his m osquit o species hav e now , for t he fir st t im e, been collect ed from an urban area of t he m unicipalit y of Manaus, Am azonas, Brazil.

Keywords

Aedes. Dengue. Geographic dist ribut ion. Aedes albopict us.

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Originat ing from Asia, where is it is an im port ant vect or for arboviruses, Aedes ( St egom yia) albopict us ( Skuse, 1894) becam e increasingly dispersed t o ot her part s of t he world from 1980 onwards.2 I t w as found in t he Am ericas for t he first t im e in 1985 and in Brazil in May 1986.1 This species has becom e dissem inat ed t hroughout Brazil, and has been found in various Brazilian st at es.2

I n t he St at e of Am azonas, it was found for t he first t im e in June 1996, specifically in t he im m ediat e v icinit y of Tabat inga ( Figur e) , accor ding t o infor m at ion fr om t he Fundação Nacional de Saúde - FUNASA ( Nat ional Healt h Foundat ion) and t he Secr et ar ia de Est ado de Saúde do Am azonas - SUSAM ( Am azonas St at e Healt h Depart m ent ) . I t was t em porarily elim inat ed from t hat localit y. Since t hen, an ent om ological surveillance service for t his species has been im plem ent ed, w it h t he use of larval t raps inst alled in differ ent locat ions w it hin t he cit y of Let ícia, on t he fr ont ier bet w een Br azil and Colom bia.5 Nonet heless, in 1997 t his species w as again found bot h in Tabat inga and in t he Dist r ict of Let ícia.5

Source: National Health Foundation (Fundação Nacional de Saúde - FUNASA)/ Amazonas State Health Department (Secretaria de Estado de Saúde do Amazonas - SUSAM)

Figure – Distribution of Aedes albopictus in the State of Amazonas

Today , t he disper sion of Ae. albopict us is affect ing nine m unicipalit ies ( Figure) , in cluding Manaus, w here it s occurrence has now for t he first t im e been recorded. This com es from t he inform at ion t hat an adult of Ae. albopict us w as caught on August 5, 2002, out side t he Fundação de Medicina Tr opical do Am azonas ( Foundat ion of Tr opical Medic ine of Am azonas) , by an em ployee.

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Alt hough t his species has not y et been im plicat ed as a v ect or for ar bov ir uses in Br azil, it could becom e a br idge bet w een t he for est and ur ban cy cles of yellow fever or ot her ar bovir uses, because of it s capacit y for adapt at ion t o differ ent env ir onm ent s.2 Accor ding t o t he few st udies m ade in r elat ion t o it s progressive dispersion, Ae. albopict us has dem onst rat ed a high capabilit y for ut ilizing art ificial breeding areas w it hin Brazilian t errit ory, w it hout abandoning nat ural ecot opes.2 I t s epidem iological im port ance in t he t ransm ission of t he dengue virus is recognized in rural and urban areas in Asia, as w ell as it s part icipat ion in t he t ransm ission of Asia n encephalit is.4

Ev en t hough it is not y et clear w hat effect t he pr esence of Ae. albopict us m ay have on t he dynam ics of t he t r ansm ission of t he dengue v ir us in t he Am er icas, it s int er act ion w it h Aedes aegypt i needs at t en t ion , sin ce bot h ar e species t h at essent ially develop w it hin t he sam e art ificial breeding areas of rural, urban and peripherally urban environm ent s.3 Their com pet ence as v ect or s for t r ansm it t ing diseases like dengue, yellow fever and Venezuelan equine encephalit is have been pr oven under labor at or y condit ions.3 The risk of urban epidem ics increases wit h increased m osquit o populat ion densit y and wider dist ribut ion. This is especially so in relat ion t o t he urban areas bordering rural areas w her e spor adic cases of for est y ellow fev er ar e alr eady occur r ing. The m ovem ent of people infect ed w it h t he yellow fever virus from rural t o urban areas furt her increases t his risk.3 Thus, t her e is a need for vigilant m onit oring of how t he presence of Ae. albopict us ev olv es under t he new condit ions t hat it is subj ect ed t o in t he neot r opical r egion, and how it coex ist s w it h Aedes aegy pt i.

REFEREN CES

1 . For at t ini OP. I dent ificação de Aedes (St egom yia) albopict us ( Skuse) no Brasil. Rev Saúde Pública 1986; 20: 244 - 5 .

2 . Gom es AC, Bit t encour t MD, Nat al D, Pint o PLS, Mucci LF, Paula MB de et al. Aedes albopict us em área rural do Brasil e im plicações na t ransm issão de febre am arela silvest re. Rev Saúde Pública 1999; 33: 95 - 7 .

3 . Johnson BW, Cham bers TV, Crabt ree MB, Filippis AMB, Vilarinhos PTR, Resende MC et al.

Vect or com pet ence of Br azilian Aedes aegypt i and Ae. albopict us for a Brazilian yellow fever virus isolat e. Tr ans Roy al Soc Tr op Med Hy g 2002; 96: 611- 3 .

4 . Moor e CG, Mit chel CJ. Aedes albopict us i n t h e Un it ed St at es: t em- year pr esence and public healt h im plicat ions. Em er g I nfect Dis 1997; 3: 329- 34.

5 . Velez I D, Quinones ML, Suarez M, Olano V, Murcia LM, Correa E et al. Pr esencia de Aedes

albopict us en Let icia Am azonas, Colom bia. Biom édica 1998; 18: 192- 8 .

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Address to correspondence

Nelson Ferreir a Fé

Subgerência de Ent om ologia, Fundação de Medicina Tropical do Am azonas Av. Pedr o Teixeir a, 25

69040 - 000, Manaus, AM, Brazil E- m ail: nelson@fm t .am .gov.br

Received on 21/ 12/ 2002. Reviewed on 12/ 6/ 2003. Approved on 30/ 6/ 2003.

0 1 2 4 6 - 9 0 4 Sã o Pa ulo SP Br a zil Te l./ Fa x : + 5 5 1 1 3 0 6 8 - 0 5 3 9