Resumo

NAVARRRO, Juan-Carlos; ZORRILLA, Adriana  e  MONCADA, Nelson. First record of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) in Venezuela: Its importance as Dengue vector and actions to address it. Bol Mal Salud Amb [online]. 2009, vol.49, n.1, pp.161-166. ISSN 1690-4648.

Aedes albopictus (Skuse), an important dengue vector but also and other 21 viruses, is for the first time recorded in Venezuela as invasive and public health importance species. The specimens were collected in the South General Cemetery, West Caracas during March 2009, in flower vases under sunlight exposure and with abundant organic detritus. The associated species were in order of abundance: Culex corniger, Aedes aegypti and Toxorhynchites theobaldi, while in previous sampling in February 2009, we have collected Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. corniger, suggesting a possible species succession. As the first report in Venezuela of a few specimens, we are unaware of introduction and spread status. Reported experience in USA, suggest the possibility of additional introductions or rapid spread from a single focus previous to its species establishment. With this report, we suggest strategies for studies in order to define the status of this introduction, the detection design and a control campaign by central and regional governmental health institutions along with Venezuelan academic research institutes.

Palavras-chave : arboviruses; vector control; invasive species; mosquitoes; public health; public services.