Open AccessRecent History ofAedes aegypti: Vector Genomics and Epidemiology Records
Author(s) -
Jeffrey R. Powell,
Andrea GloriaSoria,
Panayiota Kotsakiozi
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
bioscience/bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.761
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1525-3244
pISSN - 0006-3568
DOI - 10.1093/biosci/biy119
Subject(s) - aedes aegypti , chikungunya , dengue fever , vector (molecular biology) , geography , yellow fever , aedes , population , biology , demography , virology , ecology , virus , sociology , larva , gene , recombinant dna , biochemistry
Aedes aegypti bears the common name "the yellow fever mosquito," although, today, it is of more concern as the major vector of dengue, chikungunya, and, most recently, Zika viruses. In the present article, we review recent work on the population genetics of this mosquito in efforts to reconstruct its recent (approximately 600 years) history and relate these findings to epidemiological records of occurrences of diseases transmitted by this species. The two sources of information are remarkably congruent. Ae. aegypti was introduced to the New World 400-550 years ago from its ancestral home in West Africa via European slave trade. Ships from the New World returning to their European ports of origin introduced the species to the Mediterranean region around 1800, where it became established until about 1950. The Suez Canal opened in 1869 and Ae. aegypti was introduced into Asia by the 1870s, then on to Australia (1887) and the South Pacific (1904).