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April 11th, 2025
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The University of the West Indies at Mona Faculty of Medical Sciences
ecology
biorxiv

Invasive Aedes vittatus mosquitoes in Jamaica: A looming public health concern

Noble, S. A. A.Open in Google Scholar•Ali, R. L. M. N.Open in Google Scholar•Wilson-Clarke, C. F.Open in Google Scholar•Khouri, N. K.Open in Google Scholar•Norris, D. E.Open in Google Scholar•Sandiford, S. L.Open in Google Scholar

Aedes vittatus, an emerging invasive mosquito of significant public health concern has slowly made its way onto the global radar. With a known geographical range in Africa and Asia, where it is a competent vector for several arboviruses, this mosquito has now been reported in the Americas. As the spread of this mosquito has been partly linked to transcontinental trade and travel, Jamaica, the largest English-speaking country in the Caribbean, which serves as a central hub for trade and transport throughout the region has been on alert since its identification in neighbouring Dominican Republic and Cuba. Through ongoing surveillance efforts from January 2023 to October 2024, we report the detection of Ae. vittatus across six locations in four parishes in Jamaica. Both larvae and adults were collected from rural and urban areas in the country. Additionally, we present the first complete annotated mitochondrial genomes of two specimens of this invasive mosquito species. Phylogenetic analysis based on a 539 bp fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene extracted from the derived mitochondrial genomes of Jamaican Ae. vittatus, revealed clustering with specimens from Cuba, India and Nepal. This study highlights the benefits of routine surveillance and the power of molecular approaches to identify invasive species and their potential origins.

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