Health Implications of the Establishment and Spread of Aedes Albopictus in Spain

Abstract

The spread of Aedes albopictus by Eastern Spain has been constant since its first finding in 2004. Currently the species has been collected in the coastal provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Castellón, Alicante and Murcia. The high synanthropism of the species, together with its anthropophilic behaviour and vectorial capacity to transmit several arboviruses, have led to the return of active transmission cycles of common diseases in the past such as Dengue virus and even the appearance of new tropical viruses as Chikungunya in southern Europe. Thismanuscript discusses the public health implications of the expected expansion of Ae. albopictus for much of the Iberian Peninsula, in the context of current climatic and sociodemographic situation. Moreover, several issues related with the control of the species in urban and suburban environments are exposed. Finally the preliminary data about other invasive aedines recently collected in the European continent are presented.