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. 2019 Jun;100(6):1413-1420.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0015.

Impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on Aedes aegypti Populations, Aquatic Habitats, and Mosquito Infections with Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika Viruses in Puerto Rico

Roberto Barrera  1 , Gilberto Felix  1 , Veronica Acevedo  1 , Manuel Amador  1 , Damaris Rodriguez  1 , Luis Rivera  1 , Orlando Gonzalez  1 , Nicole Nazario  2 , Marianyoly Ortiz  2 , Jorge L Muñoz-Jordan  3 , Stephen H Waterman  1 , Ryan R Hemme  1
Affiliations

Impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on Aedes aegypti Populations, Aquatic Habitats, and Mosquito Infections with Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika Viruses in Puerto Rico

Roberto Barrera et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Puerto Rico was severely impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. The island has been endemic for dengue viruses (DENV) and recently suffered epidemics of chikungunya (CHIKV 2014) and Zika (ZIKV 2016) viruses. Although severe storms tend to increase the number of vector and nuisance mosquitoes, we do not know how they influence Aedes aegypti populations and arboviral transmission. We compared the abundance of female Ae. aegypti in autocidal gravid ovitraps (AGO traps), container habitats, and presence of RNA of DENV, CHIKV, and ZIKV in this vector before and after the hurricanes in Caguas city and in four communities in southern Puerto Rico. Two of these communities were under vector control using mass AGO trapping and the other two nearby communities were not. We also investigated mosquito species composition and relative abundance (females/trap) using Biogents traps (BG-2 traps) in 59 sites in metropolitan San Juan city after the hurricanes. Mosquitoes sharply increased 5 weeks after Hurricane Maria. Ensuing abundance of Ae. aegypti was higher in Caguas and in one of the southern communities without vector control. Aedes aegypti did not significantly change in the two areas with vector control. The most abundant mosquitoes among the 26 species identified in San Juan were Culex (Melanoconion) spp., Culex quinquefasciatus, Culex nigripalpus, and Ae. aegypti. No arboviruses were detected in Ae. aegypti following the hurricanes, in contrast with observations from the previous year, so that the potential for Aedes-borne arboviral outbreaks following the storms in 2017 was low.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Disclosure: R. B. and M. A. report a patent US 9.237,741 B2 that was transferred to the US Government and is currently licensed to Atlantic Paste & Glue.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Number of female pupae of Aedes aegypti collected from containers in houses (A) and number of positive containers of each type per 100 houses (Breteau container index) (B) before and after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Caguas city, Puerto Rico in 2017.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Average number of female Aedes aegypti per sentinel autocidal gravid ovitraps per week and accumulated rainfall (mm) during the third and second weeks before each mosquito-sampling week in 2016, and comparable results observed in 2017 after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Caguas city, Puerto Rico. Rainfall was lag-forwarded 1.5 weeks to facilitate visual comparisons with mosquito numbers.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Comparing average numbers of female Aedes aegypti and accumulated rainfall (mm) during the third and second weeks before each mosquito-sampling week in four communities in southern Puerto Rico. Two communities (A and B) were under vector control interventions using three autocidal gravid ovitraps per house in most houses in 2016 and in 2017 when the Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico. The other two communities (C and D) were nearby sites without vector-control interventions. Rainfall was forwarded 1.5 weeks to facilitate comparisons with mosquito numbers.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Map of the metropolitan area of San Juan city showing the average number of mosquitoes per BG-S trap per day of the four more abundant mosquito species across major landscape elements (forests, high-density housing, low-density housing, non-forested vegetation, and wetlands) after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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