DISTRIBUTION OF AEDES ALBOPICTUS (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE) IN 1998, FOLLOWING COLONIZATION IN 1995 IN GUATEMALA

Abstract:
The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Sukuse) has a potential to transmit some tropical diseases. Established colonies of Ae. albopictus in Guatemala were first discovered in the Caribbean harbor towns of Puerto Barrios and Puerto de Santo Tomas de Castilla, Department of Izabal in 1995. We investigated the geographical distribution and seasonal prevalence of this species in Guatemala in 1997 and 1998. The distribution of this species in 1997 was limited to the same area where it was first discovered in 1995, and in 1998 we found it at San Francisco located at only 15 km from the center of Puerto Barrios along the Atlantic Highway. This is very different from the situation in the United States where this species has consistently expanded its distribution. Ae. albopictus in Guatemala prefers to breed in small water containers in urban sites and suburbs of the harbor city. We could not find Ae. albopictus in villages located along the border with Mexico, Honduras or El Salvador, at harbor towns on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in 1997 and 1998. It is clear that Ae. albopictus is spreading toward outside the cities of Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomas de Castilla in 1998. However, the populations of this species in the center of those cities are decreasing in comparison with the data of 1997.