Geographical distribution of Aedes albopictus around urban areas in Korea

Yang Sung-Chan, Lee Eun Jung, Lee Wook-Gyo, Cho Shin-Hyeong
Division of Vector and Parasitic Diseases, Center for Laboratory Control of Infectious Disease, KCDC

Aedes albopictus (Skuse) is known as the major vector of human arboviruses that can transmit approximately 22 viruses belonging to Togaviridae, Flaviviridae, Bunyaviridae families. Recently, Aedes albopictus has been suggested to be involved in the transmission of Zika virus in several countries, including Southeast Asia.
In this study, mosquitoes were collected from 27 cities in Korea during March to November (twice a month) in 2016; a total of 102,102 mosquitoes, belonging to 19 species from 8 genera, was collected. Of these, 21,467 mosquitoes were Ae. albopictus: 20,961 (97.6%) were collected by BG-Sentinel trap and 506 (2.4%) by Black-light trap in the urban areas. The trap index (trap per night) of Ae. albopictus was highest in Hamyang (TI: 47.3) and lowest in Taebaek (TI: < 0.1), where only black-light trap was used. Although a total of 894 pools from the collected Ae. albopictus was performed, Flavivirus including Zika virus was not detected during the study period.
During April to September, Ae. albopictus was widely distributed in urban areas in Korea around hills and parks. The results of this study provide basic information about the status of Ae. albopictus in Korea in order to devise strategies to prevent overseas inflow of Zika virus infection. Thus, personal hygiene management after outdoor activities would be critical for the prevention of Zika virus infection.

Keywords: Aedes albopictus, Arboviruses, Zika Virus, Disease vectors, Flavivirus