Spatial and temporal heterogeneities of Aedes albopictus density in La Reunion Island: rise and weakness of entomological indices

PLoS One. 2014 Mar 17;9(3):e91170. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091170. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Following the 2006 Chikungunya disease in La Reunion, questions were raised concerning the monitoring survey of Aedes albopictus populations and the entomological indexes used to evaluate population abundance. The objectives of the present study were to determine reliable productivity indexes using a quantitative method to improve entomological surveys and mosquito control measures on Aedes albopictus. Between 2007 and 2011, 4 intervention districts, 24 cities, 990 areas and over 850,000 houses were used to fulfil those objectives. Four indexes including the classical Stegomyia index (House Index, Container Index, Breteau Index) plus an Infested Receptacle Index were studied in order to determine whether temporal (year, month, week) and/or spatial (districts, cities, areas) heterogeneities existed. Temporal variations have been observed with an increase of Ae. albopictus population density over the years, and a seasonality effect with a highest population during the hot and wet season. Spatial clustering was observed at several scales with an important autocorrelation at the area scale. Moreover, the combination among these results and the breeding site productivity obtained during these 5 years allowed us to propose recommendations to monitor Aedes albopictus by eliminating not the most finding sites but the most productive ones. As the other strategies failed in La Reunion, this new approach should should work better.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aedes*
  • Animals
  • Breeding
  • Environment
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Islands
  • Mosquito Control
  • Population Density
  • Seasons
  • Spatio-Temporal Analysis*

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported by the French Ministry of Health and the FEDER Convergence Réunion 2007–2013 programme. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.