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. 2019 Jun 12:7:148.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00148. eCollection 2019.

Estimating Past, Present, and Future Trends in the Global Distribution and Abundance of the Arbovirus Vector Aedes aegypti Under Climate Change Scenarios

Affiliations

Estimating Past, Present, and Future Trends in the Global Distribution and Abundance of the Arbovirus Vector Aedes aegypti Under Climate Change Scenarios

Jing Liu-Helmersson et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Aedes aegypti is the principal vector for several important arbovirus diseases, including dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika. While recent empirical research has attempted to identify the current global distribution of the vector, the seasonal, and longer-term dynamics of the mosquito in response to trends in climate, population, and economic development over the twentieth and the twenty-first century remains to be elucidated. Methods: In this study, we use a process-based mathematical model to estimate global vector distribution and abundance. The model is based on the lifecycle of the vector and its dependence on climate, and the model sensitivity to socio-economic development is tested. Model parameters were generally empirically based, and the model was calibrated to global databases and time series of occurrence and abundance records. Climate data on temperature and rainfall were taken from CRU TS3.25 (1901-2015) and five global circulation models (CMIP5; 2006-2099) forced by a high-end (RCP8.5) and a low-end (RCP2.6) emission scenario. Socio-economic data on global GDP and human population density were from ISIMIP (1950-2099). Findings: The change in the potential of global abundance in A. aegypti over the last century up to today is estimated to be an increase of 9.5% globally and a further increase of 20 or 30% by the end of this century under a low compared to a high carbon emission future, respectively. The largest increase has occurred in the last two decades, indicating a tipping point in climate-driven global abundance which will be stabilized at the earliest in the mid-twenty-first century. The realized abundance is estimated to be sensitive to socioeconomic development. Interpretation: Our data indicate that climate change mitigation, i.e., following the Paris Agreement, could considerably help in suppressing risks of increased abundance and emergence of A. aegypti globally in the second half of the twenty-first century.

Keywords: Aedes aegypti; climate change; global vector abundance; mathematical model; precipitation; socioeconomic factors; temperature; vector abundance.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Potential for global distribution and abundance of female Aedes aegypti over the decade 2000–2009, by season. The vector population was first summarized for each season−3 months-and then averaged over the decade. The unit is vector population per larval site, and model A was used.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Change in the potential abundance of Aedes aegypti (per larval site) over the 20th century. The female vector population was first summarized for each year and then averaged over three decades at the beginning of the last century (A), the turn of this century (B). The difference between (B) and (A) is shown in (C). Model A was used.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Change in the potential abundance of Aedes aegypti (per larval site) over the twenty-first century (2090–2099 relative to 1987–2016). The two panels correspond to two carbon emission scenarios: RCP2.6 (A) and RCP8.5 (B) using Model A.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relative changes (%) in the global potential abundance of Aedes aegypti over two centuries (1905–2099). The future change (starting in 2015) shows two carbon emission scenarios: RCP2.6 (blue lines) and RCP8.5 (red lines), using five global climate model ensembles (CMIP5) based on Model A.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Model comparison of different drivers on the global distribution for potential abundance and vector density of female Aedes aegypti: using climate only (A—Model A) and climate, human population and GDPpc (B,C—Model B). (A) shows potential vector abundance (per larval site) averaged over the decade 2000–2009 in linear scale. (B,C) show population density averaged over 2006–2015 in linear scale (B) and in log scale where occurrence data was also overlaid (C).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Comparison two-decades averaged global distribution of female Aedes aegypti vector density over 45 years using Model B.

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