The recent notifications of autochthonous dengue and chikungunya fever in Europe show that the region is vulnerable to these diseases in areas where efficient vectors, as the invasive mosquitoesAedes aegypti or Ae. albopictus, are present. In addition, West Nile fever cases are becoming more frequent in a number of European countries, and autochthonous malaria has dramatically reappeared in Greece, both pathogens being transmitted by indigenous mosquito species.
Assessing and managing the risk of mosquito-borne diseases first and foremost necessitates collecting data related to the vectors. Thus, surveillance programmes are implemented in order to obtain reliable and updated information on presence, abundance, and bionomics of potential vector species. This is particularly important in areas at risk of introduction or spread of invasive mosquito vectors with a corresponding risk of virus transmission, and considering the context of environmental changes, such as land use and weather conditions, which might boost vector populations and virus amplification. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) produces guidelines for the surveillance of mosquito vectors in Europe in order to support the implementation of surveillance of mosquitoes of public health relevance and further harmonize surveillance procedures within Europe. In a first step, these guidelines address the surveillance of invasive mosquito species, such as Ae. albopictus, Ae. aegypti, Ae. atropalpus, Ae. japonicus, Ae. koreicus and Ae. triseriatus. As a second step, ECDC intends to provide guidelines for indigenous mosquito vectors of human diseases. In this series of papers we aim at disseminating the current guidelines for the surveillance of mosquito vectors as well as in-depth scientific discussion of the main issues related to mosquito surveillance or monitoring. In addition, scientists and field users are encouraged to share their experience related to the implementation and outcome of these guidelines.
Edited by: Dr Laurence Marrama, Dr Francis Schaffner
Collection published: 18 July 2013
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