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RISKTIGER

Risk assessment of the emergence of new arboviruses diseases transmitted by the tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Autonomous Province of Trento

Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) is an invasive species vector of at least 24 arboviroses (ARtropod-BOrne-Viruses - ARBO-viruses) and dirofilariasis, some of them of medical importance, as Dengue, Yellow fever, West Nile Virus, Chikungunya and other meningoencephalitis (Mitchell, 1995). From its native area in Southeast Asia, this species has spread worldwide,colonizing America, Africa, Europe and Oceania in the last decades (Gratz, 2004). Detected in Italy in 1990, it has colonized more than ¾ of Italy in 15 years, producing an annual expenses of around 15 million Euro (Pilani et al., 2004). This species has been reported to occur especially in the southern area of the Autonomous Province of Trento since 1997 (Ferrarese, 2004).
In this project we assess current spatial distribution, spreading and seasonal dynamics of Aedes albopictus in Trentino, evaluating the influence of climatic and ecological variables, and developing predictive models that optimized control strategies. Based in this data and in data from other populations (Roiz et al., 2007), we will determined the high risk areas for the potential establishment of this invasive species. Also the pattern of infection of several arbovirus is evaluated with new molecular tools (RT-PCR). With all this data, we will produce predictive models on the possible future spread of this species and the risk of emergence of several human and veterinary diseases in Trentino.