Autor(es): Dhimal, Meghnath; Gautam, Ishan; Kres, Aljoscha; Mueller, Ruth; Kuch, Ulrich

Resumo: Dengue fever, a viral disease transmitted by the bites of infected Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, has been rapidly spreading in Nepal since it was first reported in this country in 2004. Similarly, lymphatic filariasis, a parasitic disease transmitted by Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes in Nepal, is a public health problem in terms of morbidity and impact on the social and economic status of poor people living in rural and slum areas. Evidence for more pronounced temperature rises in higher altitudes of Nepal and an increasing frequency of dengue fever and lymphatic filariasis cases reported from mountain areas, in the absence of recent data on the mosquito vectors of these diseases, prompted us to investigate their distribution and abundance in this country. In our study, we document the distribution of A. aegypti and A. albopictus from the lowlands up to 1,310 m altitude in Kathmandu, and the distribution of C. quinquefasciatus up to Dhunche (2,100 m altitude), the highest locality included in this study. The wide distribution of these important disease vectors in the mountains, previously considered non-endemic for dengue fever and lymphatic filariasis, calls for an extension and scaling-up of vector-borne disease surveillance and control programmes in Nepal.

Palavras-Chave: Biological surveys; Human diseases; Disease control; Pest control; Parasitic diseases; Hosts; Aquatic insects; Disease transmission; Public health; Temperature effects; Data processing; Spreading; Spatial distribution; Bites; Temporal variations; Abundance; Vector-borne diseases; Filariasis; Vectors; Morbidity; Mountains; Altitude; Dengue; Economics; Viral diseases; Temperature; Socioeconomics; Slums; Rural areas; Culex quinquefasciatus; Aedes aegypti; Aedes albopictus

Imprenta: Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, v. 8, n. 7, 2014.

Descritores: Aedes aegypti - Transmission ; Aedes aegypti - Dengue ; Aedes aegypti - Epidemiology ; Aedes aegypti - Public health

Data de publicação: 2014