2018
Author(s): Nasir S, Asar M, Rasul A, Hussain SM, Aslam N, Ahmed F, Yousaf I, Ashraf F, Debboun M
Aedes mosquitoes, a vector of many fatal diseases including dengue fever and cause millions of deaths annually Dengue fever has been reported from Pakistan during 1994 at a low pace. However, its first epidemic was recorded from Punjab during 2011 which was associated with 2010 heavy rainfall, floods and high Aedes albopictus/aegypti population. Thus, this study was carried out to examine the impact of changing climatic conditions on the population dynamics of Aedes mosquitoes. Collection of mosquitoes (larvae, pupae, and adults) was done from natural and artificial storage containers twice during different seasons, i.e., winter (October-February), summer (March-June) and monsoon season (July-September) from marked rural areas (fields, villages, towns) and urban areas using simple random technique. Years, months, seasons, relative humidity, and temperature were found to be significant in case of population dynamics of Ae. albopictus. The overall values of container index (CI), premises index (PI) and breteau index (BI) (19.9%, 8.1% and 8.9% respectively) were higher for 2011 than all other years. High population (61.7%) was recorded during rainy season due to high temperature (28-36 degrees C) and high relative humidity (up to 75%) and very low populations (7.2%) were recorded from outside during winter due to low temperature (<10 degrees C) and low relative humidity (<23%). Aedes albopictus was mostly collected from rural areas and in some city parks during rainy season. So, we can manage its population by decreasing the number of water bodies in our area especially during rainy season.
Journal: Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences