Coordination and implementation at the Belgian level of the European pilot project on the elaboration of guidelines for the surveillance of exotic mosquitoes on the Belgian territory (EXOSURV)

Vector-borne diseases are a specific group of infections that present a (re-)emerging threat to Europe and require particular attention. The recent notifications of autochthonous transmission of dengue fever and chikungunya fever cases in Europe show its vulnerability to these diseases in areas where the vector, the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus, is present. Strengthening surveillance of exotic mosquito species such as Ae. albopictus, Aedes aegypti, Aedes atropalpus, Aedes japonicus, Aedes koreicus and Aedes triseriatus, in areas at risk of importation or spread of mosquitoes and risk of virus transmission is therefore required. This is particularly important in the context of environmental and climate changes which might allow an increase of vector populations and virus amplification. The collection of information and data on vectors of public health (PH) significance are of crucial importance to understand the levels of risk that countries face, and to define the actions that need to be taken.
Therefore ECDC has produced guidelines that aim at supporting the implementation of tailored surveillance for Invasive Mosquito Species (IMS) of PH relevance. They provide evidence-based guidance and technical support for focused field data collection, proposing adaptations dictated by the epidemiological situation and taking into account estimated costs. They may also contribute to harmonising surveillance methods and information records at the EU level so that data from different countries/areas can be compared over time. They intend to provide support both to non-specialists of mosquito surveillance, stakeholders in PH and decision/policy makers, and to professionals involved in implementing IMS surveillance or control. In March 2012 the EU asked the member states to evaluate these guidelines. (Schaffner et al. 2012)
Belgium was one of the countries which declared its candidature. Based on a large sampling of the MODIRISK project (2007-2010) no exotic mosquito species is widely established in Belgium (Versteirt et al. 2012). However, two exotic mosquito species are locally established in Belgium since at least 5 years, Ae. japonicus in Natoye (province of Namur) and Ae. koreicus in Maasmechelen (province of Limburg), while Ae. albopictus was intercepted in a tire company close to Antwerp in 2000, but did not establish itself in the area (Schaffner et al. 2004). Based on the ECDC guidelines an exotic mosquito surveillance project (ExoSurv) was set-up in Belgium.

Project type:PhD project