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Projeto de investigação
Mobile Bio-Lab to support first response in Arbovirus outbreaks
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Publicações
The spread of Aedes albopictus in Portugal: an update of its geographic and seasonal distribution
Publication . Costa Osório, Hugo; Soares, Patricia; Freitas, R.; Fernandes, R.; Zé-Zé, Líbia; Amaro, Fátima; Alves, Maria João
Over the last two decades, the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus has spread across Europe. Portugal was the last country in southern Europe to report this species, which was first detected in 2017 under the National Vector Surveillance Network—REVIVE. Despite all the measures taken, its distribution has increased rapidly and in 2023, it was introduced in Lisbon, a major urban centre. As Ae. albopictus is a competent vector for dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses, monitoring its geographic distribution and seasonal dynamics is crucial for public health risk assessment.
Wolbachia Screening in Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens Mosquitoes from Madeira Island, Portugal
Publication . Fernandes, Rita; Melo, Tiago; Marques Zé-Zé, Líbia Maria; Campos Freitas, Inês; Silva, Manuel; Dias, Eva; Santos, Nuno C.; Gouveia, Bruna R.; Seixas, Gonçalo; Costa Osório, Hugo
Simple Summary: Mosquitoes can spread serious diseases like dengue and West Nile virus. On Madeira Island, two mosquito species—Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens—are present and may pose a risk to public health. Scientists are exploring new ways to control these mosquitoes using a natural bacterium called Wolbachia, which can reduce a mosquito’s ability to transmit viruses and even lower mosquito populations. However, for these methods to work, it is important to know first if the mosquitoes in the area already carry this bacterium. In this study, we tested Ae. aegypti and Cx. pipiens from Madeira for Wolbachia. Wolbachia was absent in all 100 Ae. aegypti tested but present in all 40 Cx. pipiens. We also found that the Wolbachia in Cx. pipiens belonged to a group commonly seen in other parts of the world. These results are important because they help us understand which mosquito control strategies might work in Madeira. Specifically, if scientists want to use Wolbachia to control Ae. aegypti on the island, they would need to introduce it artificially. This information can help improve public health efforts and reduce the risk of mosquito-borne diseases in the region.
Enhancing Entomological Surveillance: Real-Time Monitoring of Mosquito Activity with the VECTRACK System in Rural and Urban Areas
Publication . Silva, Manuel; Gouveia, Bruna R.; Santos, José Maurício; Guerreiro, Nélia; Monteiro, Alexandra; Almeida, Soraia; Osório, Hugo Costa
Background: Mosquitoes from the Aedes (Ae.) genus are vectors of dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and other arboviruses, posing a significant public health threat. In 2005, Aedes aegypti was detected for the first time in Madeira Island, Portugal, in the city of Funchal, and has since become established in the region. In 2017, Aedes albopictus was detected for the first time in mainland Portugal. These invasion events require targeted entomological surveillance, which demands substantial human resources and a high management capacity for traditional vector monitoring. Following promising results obtained in laboratory conditions, a field-deployable model of a bioacoustic sensor for the automatic classification of mosquitoes integrated with a Biogents Sentinel trap as part of the VECTRACK system was tested in three regions in Portugal.
Methods: The VECTRACK system was deployed in three locations: Funchal on Madeira Island, and Palmela and Algarve on mainland Portugal. Catch bags were manually inspected at intervals ranging from daily to weekly, resulting in a total of 38 captures in Madeira, 10 in Palmela, and 7 in the Algarve. Manual identifications were compared with those generated by the VECTRACK system, and the degree of correlation between the two datasets was assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.
Results: A total of 176 mosquitoes were captured in Madeira, 732 in Palmela, and 143 in the Algarve. Both manual and sensor-based identifications demonstrated similar performance, with high correlation observed between the two methods. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients indicated high agreement for both female and male mosquitoes across all sites: Madeira: females = 0.84, males = 0.92, Palmela: females = 0.99, males = 0.84, Algarve: females = 0.98, and males = 0.99, all with p-values < 0.001.
Conclusions: The VECTRACK system demonstrated strong performance in accurately distinguishing mosquitoes from non-mosquitoes, differentiating between Aedes and Culex genera, and identifying the sex of individual specimens. These promising results provide a solid foundation for the development of automated early warning systems and enhance mosquito surveillance strategies, which are critical for timely responses to potential vector-borne disease outbreaks.
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Entidade financiadora
European Commission
European Commission
European Commission
Programa de financiamento
HORIZON EIC Grants
HORIZON-EIC\HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based
HORIZON-EIC\HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based
Número da atribuição
101099283