Buruli ulcer, a chronic subcutaneous infection caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, is increasing in prevalence in southeastern Australia. Possums are a local wildlife reservoir for M. ulcerans and, although mosquitoes have been implicated in transmission, it remains unclear how humans acquire infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPopulation genomic approaches can characterize dispersal across a single generation through to many generations in the past, bridging the gap between individual movement and intergenerational gene flow. These approaches are particularly useful when investigating dispersal in recently altered systems, where they provide a way of inferring long-distance dispersal between newly established populations and their interactions with existing populations. Human-mediated biological invasions represent such altered systems which can be investigated with appropriate study designs and analyses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommun Dis Intell (2018)
May 2019
Most of the inhabited islands in the Torres Strait region of Australia have experienced dengue outbreaks transmitted by at various times since at least the 1890s. However, another potential dengue vector, , the Asian tiger mosquito, was detected for the first time in 2005 and it expanded across most of the Torres Strait within a few years. In 2016, a survey of container-inhabiting mosquitoes was conducted in all island communities and was undetectable on most of the islands which the species had previously occupied, and had been replaced by .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Within the last century, increases in human movement and globalization of trade have facilitated the establishment of several highly invasive mosquito species in new geographic locations with concurrent major environmental, economic and health consequences. The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is an extremely invasive and aggressive daytime-biting mosquito that is a major public health threat throughout its expanding range.
Methodology/principal Findings: We used 13 nuclear microsatellite loci (on 911 individuals) and mitochondrial COI sequences to gain a better understanding of the historical and contemporary movements of Ae.
Background: The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is an important vector of dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses and is a highly invasive and aggressive biter. Established populations of this species were first recognised in Australia in 2005 when they were discovered on islands in the Torres Strait, between mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea. A control program was implemented with the original goal of eliminating Ae.
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