Desiccation Tolerance of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus Eggs of Northeastern Argentina Origin

MARTÍN, MÍA E.; ESTALLO, ELIZABET L.; ESTRADA, LUIS G.; MATIZ ENRIQUEZ, CAROLINA; STEIN, MARINA

Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease

MDPI

Año: 2025 vol. 10

This study examines the desiccation tolerance of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictuseggs, two major arbovirus vectors, in a subtropical region of Argentina to understand theirsurvival under varying relative humidity (RH) conditions (35%, 68%, and 82%). Laboratoryexperiments revealed that Ae. aegypti eggs exhibited significantly higher survival ratesacross all RH levels and exposure times compared to Ae. albopictus. After 1 month, Ae.aegypti eggs maintained 88% survival at 35% RH, while Ae. albopictus survival dropped to38%. This disparity was more pronounced at low RH, where Ae. albopictus eggs experienceda rapid decline in survival over time. The results highlight the importance of RH as a keyfactor influencing the persistence of both species in the environment. The coexistence ofAe. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Puerto Iguazú suggests that microhabitats with distincthumidity conditions may favor one species over the other. These findings provide crucialinsights for predicting mosquito population dynamics under changing climate conditionsand developing more effective vector control strategies to reduce arbovirus transmission insubtropical regions.