Estimation of DENV-2 Transmission as a Function of Site-Specific Entomological Parameters from Three Cities in Colombia.

Background: Measuring dengue virus transmission in endemic areas is a difficult task as many variables drive transmission, and often are not independent of one another.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the utility of vectorial capacity to explain the observed dengue infection rates in three hyperendemic cities in Colombia, and tested hypotheses related to three variables: mosquito density, effective vector competence, and biting rate.

Methods: We estimated two of the most influential entomological variables related to cumulative vectorial capacity, which is a modification of the traditional vectorial capacity equation, of three Colombian mosquito populations.

Potential distribution of mosquito vector species in a primary malaria endemic region of Colombia.

Rapid transformation of natural ecosystems changes ecological conditions for important human disease vector species; therefore, an essential task is to identify and understand the variables that shape distributions of these species to optimize efforts toward control and mitigation. Ecological niche modeling was used to estimate the potential distribution and to assess hypotheses of niche similarity among the three main malaria vector species in northern Colombia: Anopheles nuneztovari, An. albimanus, and An.

Ecological niche and geographic distribution of the Chagas disease vector, Triatoma dimidiata (Reduviidae: Triatominae): Evidence for niche differentiation among cryptic species.

The principal vector of Chagas disease in Central America, Triatoma dimidiata, shows considerable diversity of habitat, phenotype, and genotype across its geographic range (central Mexico to southern Ecuador), suggesting that it constitutes a complex of cryptic species. However, no consistent picture of the magnitude of ecological differentiation among populations of this complex has yet been developed. To assess ecological variation across the complex, we broadened the geographic coverage of phylogeographic data and analyses for the complex into Colombia and Mexico, with additional nuclear (ITS-2) and mitochondrial (ND4) DNA sequences.

Spatio-temporal distribution of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) mitochondrial lineages in cities with distinct dengue incidence rates suggests complex population dynamics of the dengue vector in Colombia.

Background: Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of the four serotypes of dengue virus (DENV1-4), Chikungunya and yellow fever virus to humans. Previous population genetic studies have revealed a particular genetic structure among the vector populations in the Americas that suggests differences in the ability to transmit DENV. In Colombia, despite its high epidemiologic importance, the genetic population structure and the phylogeographic depiction of Ae.

Spatial and temporal dynamics of Aedes aegypti larval sites in Bello, Colombia.

Counts of immature stages of the mosquito Aedes aegypti have been used to calculate several entomological indices of dengue vector abundance. Some studies have concluded that these indices can be used as indicators of dengue epidemic risk, while other studies have failed to find a predictive relationship. Ecological niche models have been able to predict distributional patterns in space and time, not only of vectors, but also of the diseases that they transmit.

Mapping environmental dimensions of dengue fever transmission risk in the Aburrá Valley, Colombia.

Dengue fever (DF) is endemic in Medellín, the second largest Colombian city, and surrounding municipalities. We used DF case and satellite environmental data to investigate conditions associated with suitable areas for DF occurrence in 2008 in three municipalities (Bello, Medellín and Itagüí). We develop spatially stratified tests of ecological niche models, and found generally good predictive ability, with all model tests yielding results significantly better than random expectations.