Revista de ecosistemas y ecografía

Abstracto

The Effects of Culicidae (Diptera) Larvae on Public Health

Zhang Jinhe

Entomological surveys conducted in transitional situations, the adaptability of mosquitoes, and their participation in the transportation of infectious organisms are crucial for determining the risk they provide to public health. The Culicidae-insects, which may establish themselves in urban centres and exist in regions with remnant woods, are among the main vectors of the infectious agents responsible for the occurrence of significant arboviruses, like dengue, for example. In the municipality of Santa Barbara D’Oeste, So Paulo, Brazil, mosquito species were surveyed using traps set to catch their larvae in five rural regions that were part of the Atlantic Forest domain and contained its remnant vegetation. On 920 instances, a total of 13,241 larvae from six different mosquito species were gathered (32.52% of positive collections). The two most prevalent species were Aedes albopictus (64.23%) and Aedes aegypti (32.75%), followed by Culex quinquefasciatus (1.32%), Aedes fluviatilis (1.04%), Culex Complex Coronator (0.40%), and Toxorhynchites theobaldi (0.22%). Simpson’s diversity index was used to evaluate three places, and the spatial analysis revealed that the locations with the highest concentrations of Ae. aegypti had lower diversity values and were linked to more densely packed metropolitan areas. The vector of dengue, chikungunya, and zika has a strong ability to infest urban settings, so it is crucial to start entomological surveillance and control actions as soon as possible in particular locations, like transitional ones.