Outcomes from international field trials with Male Aedes Sound Traps: Frequency-dependent effectiveness in capturing target species in relation to bycatch abundance

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Feb 25;15(2):e0009061. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009061. eCollection 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus vector dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses. With both species expanding their global distributions at alarming rates, developing effective surveillance equipment is a continuing priority for public health researchers. Sound traps have been shown, in limited testing, to be highly species-specific when emitting a frequency corresponding to a female mosquito wingbeat. Determining male mosquito capture rates in sound traps based on lure frequencies in endemic settings is the next step for informed deployment of these surveillance tools. We field-evaluated Male Aedes Sound Traps (MASTs) set to either 450 Hz, 500 Hz, 550 Hz or 600 Hz for sampling Aedes aegypti and/or Aedes albopictus and compared catch rates to BG-Sentinel traps within Pacific (Madang, Papua New Guinea) and Latin American (Molas, Mexico and Orange Walk Town, Belize) locations. MASTs set to 450-550 Hz consistently caught male Ae. aegypti at rates comparable to BG-Sentinel traps in all locations. A peak in male Ae. albopictus captures in MASTs set at 550 Hz was observed, with the lowest mean abundance recorded in MASTs set to 450 Hz. While significantly higher abundances of male Culex were sampled in MASTs emitting lower relative frequencies in Molas, overall male Culex were captured in significantly lower abundances in the MASTs, relative to BG-Sentinel traps within all locations. Finally, significant differences in rates at which male Aedes and Culex were positively detected in trap-types per weekly collections were broadly consistent with trends in abundance data per trap-type. MASTs at 550 Hz effectively captured both male Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus while greatly reducing bycatch, especially male Culex, in locations where dengue transmission has occurred. This high species-specificity of the MAST not only reduces staff-time required to sort samples, but can also be exploited to develop an accurate smart-trap system-both outcomes potentially reducing public health program expenses.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aedes* / virology
  • Animals
  • Female
  • Latin America
  • Male
  • Mosquito Control / instrumentation*
  • Mosquito Control / methods*
  • Mosquito Vectors* / virology
  • Pacific Islands
  • Sound*
  • Species Specificity
  • Zika Virus
  • Zika Virus Infection / prevention & control
  • Zika Virus Infection / transmission

Grants and funding

This work was funded by Verily Life Sciences where the co-authors JC, MD, JL, PH and NS work. These co-authors played roles in either study design and/or decision to publish and preparation of the manuscript. Funding to CA, FE, ACM and PMS was also provided by Fondo Mixto CONACyT (Mexico)–Gobierno del Estado de Yucatan (Project YUC-2017-03-01-556).