Presence of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) and its natural infection with dengue virus at unrecorded heights in Colombia.
BACKGROUND
Aedes aegypti is the main vector of urban yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses. The biogeographical distribution of this species has expanded due to global warming, and socioeconomic and cultural factors. The changes in the altitudinal distribution patterns of this vector and its natural infection are priority fields of research to develop entomological, virological and public health surveillance strategies.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the presence of A. aegypti and its natural infection with dengue virus in altitudes above 1.800 meters above sea level in two peripheral municipalities of the Valle de Aburrá, Antioquia, Colombia.


METHODS
Twenty-one ovitraps were set in the municipalities of Bello and San Pedro de los Milagros, at altitudes ranging from 1.882 to 2.659 masl. Emerged adults caught in the ovitraps were tested by RT-PCR for dengue virus detection.


RESULTS
We collected 367 A. aegypti adults, seven of which were found as high as 2.302 masl in Tierradentro, Bello. We detected serotype 2 dengue infection in 12 A. aegypti specimens collected in the neighbourhood of París, in Bello, at 1.984 masl.


CONCLUSIONS
We recorded A. aegypti at 2.302 masl, so far the highest altitudinal record in Colombia for this vector. Furthermore, mosquitoes collected at 1.984 masl were positive for dengue virus. These findings are significant as they identify regions in Colombia at risk of potential autochthonous transmission of dengue and other arboviruses by A. aegypti.
Programa de Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales, PECET, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia. fredyruiz9@gmail.com.
Freddy
F
Ruiz-López
Ana
A
González-Mazo
Andrés
A
Vélez-Mira
Giovan F
GF
Gómez
Luisa
L
Zuleta
Sandra
S
Uribe
Iván Darío
ID
Vélez-Bernal
D000330:Aedes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000821:virology*; D000818:Animals; D002947:Cities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003105:Colombia; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003716:Dengue Virus; D006801:Humans; D015004:Yellow Fever / Q000635:transmission*; D000071244:Zika Virus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D000071243:Zika Virus Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology
Aedes aegypti; Colombia; altitude; dengue; geographic locations