Larval Development of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Peri-Urban Brackish Water and Its Implications for Transmission of Arboviral Diseases

Abstract

Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) and Aedes albopictus Skuse mosquitoes transmit serious human arboviral diseases including yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. Females of the two species have adapted to undergo preimaginal development in natural or artificial collections of freshwater near human habitations and feed on human blood. While there is an effective vaccine against yellow fever, the control of dengue and chikungunya is mainly dependent on reducing freshwater preimaginal development habitats of the two vectors. We show here that Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus lay eggs and their larvae survive to emerge as adults in brackish water (water with 30 ppt salt are termed fresh, brackish and saline respectively). Brackish water with salinity of 2 to 15 ppt in discarded plastic and glass containers, abandoned fishing boats and unused wells in coastal peri-urban environment were found to contain Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus larvae. Relatively high incidence of dengue in Jaffna city, Sri Lanka was observed in the vicinity of brackish water habitats containing Ae. aegypti larvae. These observations raise the possibility that brackish water-adapted Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus may play a hitherto unrecognized role in transmitting dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever in coastal urban areas. National and international health authorities therefore need to take the findings into consideration and extend their vector control efforts, which are presently focused on urban freshwater habitats, to include brackish water larval development habitats. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes transmit arboviral disease like dengue and chikungunya that are of international concern. Control of dengue and chikungunya presently focuses on eliminating freshwater larval development habitats of the two mosquitoes in urban surroundings. We investigated the ability of the two mosquito species to lay eggs and undergo development into larvae, pupae and adults in brackish water, and examined brackish water collections in the peri-urban environment for the presence of larvae. The results confirmed their ability to lay eggs and for the eggs to develop into adults in brackish water. Their larvae were found in brackish water in discarded food/beverage containers and abandoned boats as well as disused wells. Such brackish water collections with larvae in Jaffna city, Sri Lanka were found near areas of high dengue incidence. This hitherto unappreciated potential contribution to arboviral disease transmission in urban areas is of global significance. National and international health authorities need to take these new findings into consideration in developing appropriate strategies for controlling diseases transmitted by the two mosquito species.