A-Z Index × Submit A-Z Index × Submit A-Z Index Search Dropdown × Submit Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate Emerging Infectious Disease journal ISSN: 1080-6059 Disclaimer: Early release articles are not considered as final versions. Any changes will be reflected in the online version in the month the article is officially released.
We performed a 1-year mosquito survey in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, after a dengue virus outbreak in 2024. We collected 1,598 Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and detected dengue virus in 5 pools of < 20 mosquitoes. Our findings underscore the importance of sustained vector surveillance for dengue virus in arid urban environments.
During the past few decades, mosquitoborne diseases have increased worldwide, partly because of the spread of competent mosquito vectors. Changes in climate are among the primary factors contributing to the expanded ranges of arbovirus vector mosquitoes into temperate zones ( 1 ). Meanwhile, arid regions with extremely hot summers, such as the Gulf countries of the Arabian Peninsula, were not colonized by invasive mosquitoes until recently, likely because of increased urbanization ( 2 ).
Dengue fever is a mosquitoborne disease caused by dengue virus (DENV) and monitored through regional and international surveillance systems. Increased dengue activity, including autochthonous cases, was reported in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after periods of increased rainfall in April 2024 ( 3 ). To monitor local mosquito species and identify circulating mosquitoborne viruses, we conducted a mosquito survey in Dubai, UAE.
To investigate the spread and distribution pattern of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the city of Dubai, we initiated a targeted mosquito survey. We evaluated the trapped mosquitoes for the presence of mosquitoborne human pathogens by using molecular techniques.
Mosquito trapping was part of an enhanced Dubai Municipality Public Health Services Department mosquito surveillance program. We started the entomologic survey on June 20, 2024, and continued it for 1 year. Our trapping method was opportunistic, designed to sample Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in urban areas, specifically targeting labor camps, construction sites, residential communities, and green spaces including parks, stables, ponds and lakes, and gardens.
We placed BG-Sentinel mosquito traps (Biogents, https://us-shop.biogents.com ) without a light source throughout the city of Dubai combined with CO 2 lures. We conducted trapping over 3 days at 60 sites, each sampled 1–33 times (mean 4.3 times, median 2 times), with 1–7 sites (mean 1.9 sites, median 1 site)sampled per trapping period. We collected and transferred the trap contents to the Public Health Pest Control Section laboratory of Dubai Municipality. We identified Ae. aegypti and Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes morphologically ( 4 ; World Health Organization, https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/334210 ) and identified other mosquitoes to genus level. We pooled < 20 mosquitoes per vial and froze the vials at –50°C.
We homogenized mosquito pools in 500 µL of phosphate buffered saline with stainless steel beads (Benchmark Scientific, https://www.benchmarkscientific.com ) on a Bead Mill homogenizer (OMNI International, https://www.fishersci.com ). We extracted viral nucleic acid from mosquitoes by using a Quick-RNA Viral Kit (Zymo Research, https://www.zymoresearch.com ) according to manufacturer instructions. We screened Ae. aegypti mosquitoes for dengue, chikungunya, Zika…