Serological evidence of ongoing transmission of dengue virus in permanent residents of Key West, Florida.

Introduction: Dengue fever is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease in the world, with 40% of the global population at risk of infection. Dengue virus is responsible for infections in over 100 countries, including the Americas and Caribbean Basin; however, it has been largely eradicated from the United States through the implementation of effective vector control programs. However, between 2009 and 2010, 27 permanent residents of Key West, Florida, were reported to have locally acquired infections, marking the first autochthonous cases detected in Florida since 1934.

Parameterization and sensitivity analysis of a complex simulation model for mosquito population dynamics, dengue transmission, and their control.

Models can be useful tools for understanding the dynamics and control of mosquito-borne disease. More detailed models may be more realistic and better suited for understanding local disease dynamics; however, evaluating model suitability, accuracy, and performance becomes increasingly difficult with greater model complexity. Sensitivity analysis is a technique that permits exploration of complex models by evaluating the sensitivity of the model to changes in parameters.

Evaluation of a novel emergence trap to study Culex mosquitoes in urban catch basins.

Stormwater catch basins in urban areas provide important larval habitat for Culex mosquitoes. In this study we quantified adult Culex emergence using a newly designed emergence trap deployed in catch basins in suburban Chicago, IL. Traps were deployed from late June to mid-October, 2009-10, in 19 catch basins for a total of 461 trap-days.

Epidemiology of dengue virus in Iquitos, Peru 1999 to 2005: interepidemic and epidemic patterns of transmission.

Background: Comprehensive, longitudinal field studies that monitor both disease and vector populations for dengue viruses are urgently needed as a pre-requisite for developing locally adaptable prevention programs or to appropriately test and license new vaccines.

Methodology And Principal Findings: We report the results from such a study spanning 5 years in the Amazonian city of Iquitos, Peru where DENV infection was monitored serologically among approximately 2,400 members of a neighborhood-based cohort and through school-based absenteeism surveillance for active febrile illness among a subset of this cohort. At baseline, 80% of the study population had DENV antibodies, seroprevalence increased with age, and significant geographic variation was observed, with neighborhood-specific age-adjusted rates ranging from 67.

Skeeter Buster: a stochastic, spatially explicit modeling tool for studying Aedes aegypti population replacement and population suppression strategies.

Background: Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease affecting humans. The only prevention measure currently available is the control of its vectors, primarily Aedes aegypti. Recent advances in genetic engineering have opened the possibility for a new range of control strategies based on genetically modified mosquitoes.

Simulation models examining the effect of Brugian filariasis on dengue epidemics.

Concurrent ingestion of microfilariae (mf) and arboviruses by mosquitoes can enhance the transmission of virus compared with when virus is ingested alone. We studied the effect of mf enhancement on the extrinsic incubation period (EIP) of dengue 1 virus within Aedes aegypti mosquitoes by feeding mosquitoes on blood that either contained virus plus Brugia malayi mf or virus only. Mosquitoes were sampled over time to determine viral dissemination rates.

Toxorhynchites as biocontrol agents.

Toxorhynchites is an unusual and interesting genus of large, non-biting mosquitoes. In spite of their size, they are--like many species of mosquitoes--completely harmless to man. The larvae are predaceous on other mosquitoes and aquatic organisms that inhabit both natural and artificial containers.

Abridged pupa identification key to the common container-breeding mosquitoes in urban Southeast Asia.

Pupal surveys have been advocated as an alternative or surrogate surveillance method for estimating densities of adult Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Usually, this survey strategy has required that collected pupae eclose to adults before attempting species identification. Using the pupal survey method in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, this rearing step was obviated with the pupal morphological key described herein for identifying preserved or live pupae.