Search

Changes in environmental conditions, whether related or not to human activities, are continuously modifying the geographic distribution of vectors, which in turn affects the dynamics and distribution of vector-borne infectious diseases. Determining the main ecological drivers of vector distribution and how predicted changes in these drivers may alter their future distributions is therefore of major importance. However, the drivers of vector populations are largely specific to each vector species and region. Here, we identify the most important human-activity-related and bioclimatic predictors affecting the current distribution and habitat suitability of the mosquito Culex pipiens and potential future changes in its distribution in Spain. We determined the niche of occurrence (NOO) of the species, which considers only those areas lying within the range of suitable environmental conditions using presence data. Although almost ubiquitous, the distribution of Cx. pipiens is mostly explained by elevation and the degree of urbanization but also, to a lesser extent, by mean temperatures during the wettest season and temperature seasonality. The combination of these predictors highlights the existence of a heterogeneous pattern of habitat suitability, with most suitable areas located in the southern and northeastern coastal areas of Spain, and unsuitable areas located at higher altitude and in colder regions. Future climatic predictions indicate a net decrease in distribution of up to 29.55%, probably due to warming and greater temperature oscillations. Despite these predicted changes in vector distribution, their effects on the incidence of infectious diseases are, however, difficult to forecast since different processes such as local adaptation to temperature, vector-pathogen interactions, and human-derived changes in landscape may play important roles in shaping the future dynamics of pathogen transmission.&nbsp

Zika is a viral disease transmitted mainly by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. In recent years, it has expanded geographically, changing from an endemic mosquito-borne disease across equatorial Asia and Africa, to an epidemic disease causing large outbreaks in several areas of the world. With the recent Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks in the Americas, the disease has become a focus of attention of public health agencies and of the international research community, especially due to an association with neurological disorders in adults and to the severe neurological and ophthalmological abnormalities found in fetuses and newborns of mothers exposed to ZIKV during pregnancy. A large number of studies have been published in the last 3 years, revealing the structure of the virus, how it is transmitted and how it affects human cells. Many different animal models have been developed, which recapitulate several features of ZIKV disease and its neurological consequences. Moreover, several vaccine candidates are now in active preclinical development, and three of them have already entered phase I clinical trials. Likewise, many different compounds targeting viral and cellular components are being tested in in vitro and in experimental animal models. This review aims to discuss the current state of this rapidly growing literature from a multidisciplinary perspective, as well as to present an overview of the public health response to Zika and of the perspectives for the prevention and treatment of this disease. © 2017 Saiz, Martín-Acebes, Bueno-Marí, Salomón, Villamil-Jiménez, Heukelbach, Alencar, Armstrong, Ortiga-Carvalho, Mendez-Otero, Rosado-de-Castro and Pimentel-Coelho.

Several larval samplings of mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae) in different mountainous regions of the peninsular Spain were carried out. A total of 2796 specimens belonging to 18 species were collected, nevertheless the 72.5 % of these finds includes only three of them (Cx. hortensis hortensis, Cx. pipiens and Cs. longiareolata). The adaptation capacity to a varied typology of water bodies together with the marked multivoltinism that characterizes their biotic cycles are postulated as two of the principal reasons that explain their abundances. The altitudinal distribution as well as some information about the bioecology of all the species captured are also exposed., Se realizaron diversos muestreos larvarios de mosquitos (Diptera, Culicidae) en varias regiones montañosas de la España peninsular. Pese a que se recolectaron un total de 2796 ejemplares pertenecientes a 18 especies, el 72.5 % de estos hallazgos engloba únicamente a tres de ellas (Cx. hortensis hortensis, Cx. pipiens y Cs. longiareolata). La capacidad de adaptación a un variado elenco de cuerpos de agua de diferente tipología, unida al marcado multivoltinismo que caracteriza sus ciclos bióticos, se postulan como dos de las principales razones que explican sus abundancias. La distribución altitudinal así como diversa información acerca de la bioecología de todas las especies capturadas también se exponen en el presente trabajo.