The Mosquito Alert dataset includes occurrence records of adult mosquitoes collected worldwide in 2014–2020 through Mosquito Alert, a citizen science system for investigating and managing disease-carrying mosquitoes. Records are linked to citizen science-submitted photographs and validated by entomologists to determine the presence of five targeted European mosquito vectors: Aedes albopictus, Ae. aegypti, Ae. japonicus, Ae. koreicus, and Culex pipiens. Most records are from Spain, reflecting Spanish national and regional funding, but since autumn 2020 substantial records from other European countries are included, thanks to volunteer entomologists coordinated by the AIM-COST Action, and to technological developments to increase scalability. Among other applications, the Mosquito Alert dataset will help develop citizen science-based early warning systems for mosquito-borne disease risk. It can also be reused for modelling vector exposure risk, or to train machine-learning detection and classification routines on the linked images, to assist with data validation and establishing automated alert systems.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a re-emerging zoonotic pathogen with increasing incidence in Europe, producing a recent outbreak in 2020 in Spain with 77 human cases and eight fatalities. However, the factors explaining the observed changes in the incidence of WNV in Europe are not completely understood. Longitudinal monitoring of WNV in wild animals across Europe is a useful approach to understand the eco-epidemiology of WNV in the wild and the risk of spillover into humans. However, such studies are very scarce up to now. Here, we analysed the occurrence of WNV and Usutu virus (USUV) antibodies in 2102 samples collected between 2005 and 2020 from a population of feral horses in Doñana National Park. The prevalence of WNV antibodies varied between years, with a mean seroprevalence of 8.1% (range 0%–25%) and seasonally. Climate conditions including mean minimum annual temperatures and mean rainy days per year were positively correlated with WNV seroprevalence, while the annual rainfall was negatively. We also detected the highest incidence of seroconversions in 2020 coinciding with the human outbreak in southern Spain. Usutu virus-specific antibodies were detected in the horse population since 2011. The WNV outbreak in humans was preceded by a long period of increasing circulation of WNV among horses with a very high exposure in the year of the outbreak. These results highlight the utility of One Health approaches to better understand the transmission dynamics of zoonotics pathogens.

Animals have developed a wide range of defensive mechanisms against parasites to reduce the likelihood of infection and its negative fitness costs. The uropygial gland is an exocrine gland that produces antimicrobial and antifungal secretions with properties used as a defensive barrier on skin and plumage. This secretion has been proposed to affect the interaction between avian hosts and their ectoparasites. Because uropygial secretions may constitute a defense mechanism against ectoparasites, this may result in a reduction in prevalence of blood parasites that are transmitted by ectoparasitic vectors. Furthermore, other studies pointed out that vectors could be attracted by uropygial secretions and hence increase the probability of becoming infected. Here we explored the relationship between uropygial gland size, antimicrobial activity of uropygial secretions and malaria infection in house sparrows Passer domesticus. A nested-PCR was used to identify blood parasites infection. Flow cytometry detecting absolute cell counting assessed antimicrobial activity of the uropygial gland secretion Uninfected house sparrows had larger uropygial glands and higher antimicrobial activity in uropygial secretions than infected individuals. We found a positive association between uropygial gland size and scaled body mass index, but only in uninfected sparrows. Female house sparrows had larger uropygial glands and higher antimicrobial activity of gland secretions than males. These findings suggest that uropygial gland secretions may play an important role as a defensive mechanism against malaria infection.

Human and animal vector-borne diseases, particularly mosquito-borne diseases, are emerging or re-emerging worldwide. Six Aedes invasive mosquito (AIM) species were introduced to Europe since the 1970s: Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Ae. japonicus, Ae. koreicus, Ae. atropalpus and Ae. triseriatus. Here, we report the results of AIMSurv2020, the first pan-European surveillance effort for AIMs. Implemented by 42 volunteer teams from 24 countries. And presented in the form of a dataset named “AIMSurv Aedes Invasive Mosquito species harmonized surveillance in Europe. AIM-COST Action. Project ID: CA17108”. AIMSurv2020 harmonizes field surveillance methodologies for sampling different AIMs life stages, frequency and minimum length of sampling period, and data reporting. Data include minimum requirements for sample types and recommended requirements for those teams with more resources. Data are published as a Darwin Core archive in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility- Spain, comprising a core file with 19,130 records (EventID) and an occurrences file with 19,743 records (OccurrenceID). AIM species recorded in AIMSurv2020 were Ae. albopictus, Ae. japonicus and Ae. koreicus, as well as native mosquito species.

Context: Vector-borne diseases (VBD) are a worldwide public health problem for humans and wildlife. 'Global Change' such as habitat alteration and land-use intensification, biotic exchange, the introduction of invasive alien species, and climate change have all been linked to an increased occurrence of VBDs.Objectives: To evaluate the impact of land-use and land-cover (LULC) on the transmission of VBDs, we conducted a systematic review of the existing literature on the global effects of land use on VBDs. This was followed by a meta-analysis to test the relationship between LULC intensification and infection prevalence.Methods: Overall, 654 articles met our inclusion criteria for the systematic literature review, and 18 studies fulfilled the requirements for the meta-analysis.Results: The systematic literature review identified 162 articles with a total of 2541 data entries on the effect of LULC on VBDs. The majority of the studies were published after 2010, and the spatial distribution of data was biased towards North America and Europe. Overall, 193 different hosts and 144 different vector groups were identified. Avian and human malaria were the most frequently named diseases, with humans andAnophelesmosquitoes the most common host and vector, respectively. Our meta-analysis found that land-use intensity, as well as targets (host and vector), significantly impact the prevalence of VBDs. Tests for both residual heterogeneity and moderators were significant, where lower land-use intensity and vectors were linked to lower VBD prevalence, while medium land-use intensity was associated with higher prevalence. Analysis of the host sub-model supported these findings, with infection prevalence significantly lower in low land-use intensity.Conclusions: The systematic literature review revealed a temporal increase in publications on this topic, with a significant rise since 2007 and uneven distribution of data across countries, with the United States, Spain, and Brazil being the most prominent contributors and identified a wide range of pathogens and hosts involved in VBD systems, with human and avian malaria being the most commonly mentioned diseases. We also show, through a meta-analysis, that LULC intensification affects VBDs infection prevalence. Future studies should incorporate the effects of land-use intensity on vector-borne diseases in diverse ecosystems to inform management strategies and mitigate disease emergence with implications for human, livestock and wildlife health.