Reneé L.M.N. Ali
Nikhella S. Winter-Reece
Simone L. Sandiford- 1The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- 2Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
- 3Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Pharmacology and Pharmacy Section, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
- 4Mosquito Control and Research Unit, The University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
Introduction
Vector-borne diseases in the Americas continue to gain attention due to the current dengue epidemic and increasing incidences of Oropouche virus in endemic and non-endemic areas (1, 2). Even though the region has long been a hotspot for well-studied viruses such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, we currently know very little about their vectors and other emerging/re-emerging viruses particularly in Caribbean.
Invasive species and understudied vectors
A recent study notes the identification of the invasive Aedes vittatus in Jamaica, where it was reported to display synanthropic characteristics (3). In the Americas, Ae. vittatus has previously been identified from the Dominican Republic (4) and Cuba (5–7). This mosquito has demonstrated great ecological plasticity, and its competency for multiple arboviruses has been established through laboratory experiments (8). Viral isolations have also occurred from field-caught specimens (8); however, its role in disease transmission throughout the region is currently unknown.
Undoubtedly, invasive Aedes species are of significant concern due to their production of desiccation-resistant eggs and the prevalence of arboviruses such as dengue within the Caribbean. Additionally, travel, migration, and trade are major factors (9) involved in facilitating vectors to spread regionally and adapt to new territories with favorable environmental conditions. The dispersal of these mosquitoes has been intimately linked to the used tire trade and air transportation (10), both of which thrive within the region. Unsurprisingly, Aedes albopictus is now ubiquitous throughout the Caribbean after first being reported from the Dominican Republic in 1993 (11). Of note, the lack of data from some regional countries does not indicate its absence. Interestingly, despite extensive surveillance efforts, there is no evidence of the established presence of Ae. albopictus in Puerto Rico (12), thus supporting the need for more biogeographical studies throughout the region. Although considered an important vector for arboviruses such as chikungunya (13), Ae. albopictus remains understudied in the Caribbean, and its role in arboviral transmission has not been explored. With the lack of entomological surveillance systems in Caribbean territories, there exists no differentiation between the primary Aedes mosquito vector species, which may lead to underreporting (14, 15).
Additionally, the neglect of other medically important but “less significant” mosquito species, which may be competent for pathogens and other vectors, such as ticks and sandflies, may contribute to an increased public health risk. More work needs to be undertaken to elucidate the roles of these understudied vectors in the region. To compound matters, vectors may also exist in cryptic species groups (16, 17), adding to the uncertainty of possible spillover from sylvatic cycles to humans. Recently, a new Haemagogus mosquito species was identified in Trinidad using molecular analysis (18). Again, it is unknown what threat this new species may pose to public health because it is morphologically indistinguishable from Hg. janthinomys, the sylvatic vector for the yellow fever (19) and the emerging Mayaro virus (20), and was collected in close proximity to human settlements (21).
Surveillance and knowledge gaps
Renowned for its biodiversity, which includes a vast number of endemic species, the Caribbean was once a mecca for arbovirology and entomology research. The establishment of the Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory on the island of Trinidad in 1952 resulted in the screening of over 1.5 million arthropods for viruses and the isolation of over 470 virus strains between 1953 and 1963 (22). Moreover, the extensive Mosquitoes of Middle America project from 1962 to 1976 examined the biodiversity of mosquitoes across much of the region and resulted in the publication of seminal entomological studies (23). The research capacity that was established during that period has since been lost, and the region has subsequently suffered from years of underinvestment in medical entomology. In many islands, baseline studies have not been conducted in decades, and taxonomic keys are grossly outdated. Furthermore, vector control programs remain underfunded, and many lack personnel with the skillset required to morphologically identify mosquito specimens and the facilities to conduct infectivity studies. Encouragingly, the rebuilding process has slowly begun with recent biological surveys from the Dutch Leeward Islands (24), Puerto Rico, and Vieques (12).
The Caribbean region has also become increasingly dependent on external studies that describe variable competencies of geographically distinct vector populations for arboviruses. Medically important arthropods that function in the transmission of Zika, chikungunya, dengue, Oropouche, and yellow fever viruses are well-studied during outbreaks in Africa and North and South America. In contrast, very few documented variations from Cuba (25), Martinique (26), and Puerto Rico (27) dictate our understanding of the local arboviral and vector landscape. Therefore, local studies that investigate vector competence are crucial for assessing the risks of arbovirus transmission and maintenance in nature. An in-depth understanding of the complex relationships between virus and its vector can lead to the development of robust mitigation strategies for vector and arboviral disease control. It is important to investigate the variation in Aedes, Culex, and Anopheles species vector competence using established field-collected mosquitoes across the Caribbean region, owing to the unique environmental pressures they withstand.
There is also a lack of knowledge on mosquito host preferences across the Caribbean, which may account for the unexplained variations in genetic plasticity and impact on arboviral transmission dynamics. It is evident that preferential feeding behavior may be a product of adaptive advantages determined by intrinsic and extrinsic factors (28). Additionally, patterns of host selection by mosquitoes have been described to be systematic in space and time. Hence, research efforts focused on mosquito host utilization for understanding olfactory and thermal cues are important (29). Though a recent study in the Dominican Republic (30) has begun to address these challenges, the need for more research in the wider region is essential.
Environmental changes and vector expansion
Global warming, urbanization, and deforestation have also led to the rapid expansion of habitats for medically important arboviral vectors and have contributed to the rapid spread of vector-borne diseases worldwide (31, 32). Furthermore, it is common knowledge that small island territories which dominate the Caribbean region are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and urbanization (15, 33). Vector-borne disease incidences have been shown to increase with warmer temperatures, erratic rainfall, and expansion of breeding sites (34–36). This presents risk to densely populated geographic regions, particularly vulnerable communities, where the majority of infections take place.
There has been considerable debate as to whether climate change would pose a global risk on important arthropod-borne diseases that are transmitted by notorious mosquito vectors from infected to uninfected humans (29). Predictive models are being utilized in ongoing research studies worldwide to improve on precise climate models (35). In the Caribbean region, there is a paucity of long-term observational studies that monitor climate change effects. As such, in the first instance, model-based assessments are most likely to be challenged by words rather than tangible data. Added to that, the scarcity of systematically acquired field and/or laboratory-derived epidemiological data to account for arboviral spread presents entomological gaps. This hinders understanding the complexities of climate change in the Caribbean region and its influence on vector dynamics (15, 37).
Future directions
To enable improved early warnings and risk assessments, the integration of remote-sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) methodologies to track environmental conditions that drive vector-borne disease risks, outbreaks, and transmission rates in real time should be sourced. These techniques should be woven into studies undertaken across Caribbean territories to enable the mapping of vector habitats, vector presence, species abundance and density, and spatial diffusion. In combination, these data would improve surveillance efforts to elucidate the root cause of the disease infection and its source.
These technologies can assist in building baseline data for understanding epidemiological public health risks based on age groups, gender, disease severity, and community structure. Additionally, the integration of sophisticated genomics and bioinformatics analysis tools would allow us to directly identify and track vectors and vector-borne pathogens to validate modeling efforts. The acquisition of robust baseline data for the Caribbean provides the framework for vector competence studies and the establishment of holistic reports on medically important vectors that are exposed to diseases. There is a need to review how climate may impact the most divergent of arthropod disease vector groups in the Caribbean. Local studies would allow us to evaluate mechanisms that implicate biological barriers that affect virus dissemination within vectors and subsequent presence in mosquito saliva, as a proxy of infectivity to host organisms. The generation of Caribbean vector transmission data is of major epidemiological significance as it allows for vector control teams across the Caribbean to utilize appropriate disease control methods. For instance, the screening of natural Wolbachia-infected mosquito populations (38) and the use of the sterile insect technique (SIT) against Aedes aegypti (39) as potential mosquito control strategies in Cuba.
Concluding remarks
It is imperative that we close the knowledge gap regarding the vectors and the infections they are associated with in order to influence strategic and preventative public health policies rather than reactive measures, which are frequently used throughout the Caribbean region. Stakeholders such as regional and international health organizations, government agencies, universities, and local communities should prioritize investments into entomological research-driven decision-making.
Author contributions
RA: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. NW-R: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. SS: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.
Funding
The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. RA is supported by Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute Postdoctoral Award, Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Generative AI statement
The author(s) declare that no Generative AI was used in the creation of this manuscript.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
References
1. Dengue Epidemiological Situation in the Region of the Americas - Epidemiological Week 13, 2025 - PAHO/WHO. Washington, D.C., United States: Pan American Health Organization (2025). Available online at: https://www.paho.org/en/documents/dengue-epidemiological-situation-region-americas-epidemiological-week-13–2025.
2. Epidemiological Update Oropouche in the Americas Region - 11 February 2025 - PAHO/WHO. Washington, D.C., United States: Pan American Health Organization (2025). Available online at: https://www.paho.org/en/documents/epidemiological-update-oropouche-americas-region-11-february-2025.
3. Noble SAA, Ali RLMN, Wilson-Clarke CF, Khouri NK, Norris DE, and Sandiford SL. Invasive Aedes vittatus mosquitoes in Jamaica: A looming public health concern. (2025). doi: 10.1101/2025.04.10.648144
4. Alarcón-Elbal PM, Rodríguez-Sosa MA, Newman BC, and Sutton WB. The first record of aedes vittatus (Diptera: culicidae) in the Dominican Republic: public health implications of a potential invasive mosquito species in the Americas. J Med Entomol. (2020) 57:2016–21. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaa128
5. Pagac BB, Spring AR, Stawicki JR, Dinh TL, Lura T, Kavanaugh MD, et al. Incursion and establishment of the Old World arbovirus vector Aedes (Fredwardsius) vittatus (Bigot, 1861) in the Americas. Acta Trop. (2021) 213:105739. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105739
6. Pérez MMG, Castillo QRM, and Alfonso HY. First record of Aedes vittatus in Santiago de Cuba province. MediSan. (2022) 26:446–54. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaa128
7. Díaz-Martínez I, Diéguez-Fernández L, Santana-Águila B, de la Paz EMA, Ruiz-Domínguez D, and Alarcón-Elbal PM. Nueva introducción de Aedes vittatus (diptera: culicidae) en la región centro-oriental de Cuba: caracterización ecológica y relevancia médica. Interam J Med Health. (2021) 4:10–5. doi: 10.31005/iajmh.v4i.175
8. Sudeep AB and Shil P. Aedes vittatus (Bigot) mosquito: An emerging threat to public health. J Vector Borne Dis. (2017) 54:295. doi: 10.4103/0972-9062.225833
9. Wilke ABB, Farina P, Ajelli M, Canale A, Dantas-Torres F, Otranto D, et al. Human migrations, anthropogenic changes, and insect-borne diseases in Latin America. Parasit Vectors. (2025) 18:4. doi: 10.1186/s13071-024-06598-7
10. Yan J, Mackay AJ, and Stone CM. Dynamics of invasive mosquitoes: introduction pathways, limiting factors, and their potential role in vector-borne pathogen transmission. Front Trop Dis. (2024) 5:1503120. doi: 10.3389/fitd.2024.1503120
11. Pena CJ. First report of Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse) from the Dominican Republic. Vector Ecol Newlsetter. (1993) 24:68. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjx165
12. Yee DA, Reyes-Torres LJ, Dean C, Scavo NA, and Zavortink TJ. Mosquitoes (Diptera: culicidae) on the islands of Puerto Rico and Vieques, U.S.A. Acta Trop. (2021) 220:105959. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.105959
13. Vega-Rúa A, Marconcini M, Madec Y, Manni M, Carraretto D, Gomulski LM, et al. Vector competence of Aedes albopictus populations for chikungunya virus is shaped by their demographic history. Commun Biol. (2020) 3:1–13. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-1046-6
14. Francis S, Frank C, Buchanan L, Green S, Stennett-Brown R, Gordon-Strachan G, et al. Challenges in the control of neglected insect vector diseases of human importance in the Anglo-Caribbean. One Health. (2021) 13:100316. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2021.100316
15. Douglas KO, Payne K, Sabino-Santos G, Chami P, and Lorde T. The impact of climate on human dengue infections in the Caribbean. Pathogens. (2024) 13:756. doi: 10.3390/pathogens13090756
16. Zhong D, Hemming-Schroeder E, Wang X, Kibret S, Zhou G, Atieli H, et al. Extensive new Anopheles cryptic species involved in human malaria transmission in western Kenya. Sci Rep. (2020) 10:16139. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-73073-5
17. Zheng XL. Unveiling mosquito cryptic species and their reproductive isolation. Insect Mol Biol. (2020) 29:499–510. doi: 10.1111/imb.12666
18. Ali R, Lezcano RD, Jayaraman J, Mohammed A, Carrington CVF, Daniel B, et al. DNA barcoding analysis of trinidad haemagogus mosquitoes reveals evidence for putative new species. Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis. (2024) 24:237–44. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2023.0031
19. de Abreu FVS, Ribeiro IP, Ferreira-de-Brito A, Santos AACd, de Miranda RM, Bonelly IDS, et al. Haemagogus leucocelaenus and Haemagogus janthinomys are the primary vectors in the major yellow fever outbreak in Brazil, 2016–2018. Emerg Microbes Infect. (2019) 8:218–31. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2019.1568180
20. Izurieta RO, DeLacure DA, Izurieta A, Hoare IA, and Ortiz MR. Mayaro virus: the jungle flu. Virus Adapt Treat. (2018) 10:9–17. doi: 10.2147/VAAT.S128711
21. Ali R, Mohammed A, Jayaraman J, Nandram N, Feng RS, Lezcano RD, et al. Changing patterns in the distribution of the Mayaro virus vector Haemagogus species in Trinidad, West Indies. Acta Trop. (2019) 199:105108. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.105108
22. Aitken THG, Spence L, Jonkers AH, and Downs WG. A 10-year survey of trinidadian arthropods for natural virus infections (1953–1963)1. J Med Entomol. (1969) 6:207–15. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/6.2.207
23. Belkin JN. Mosquitoes of Middle America Final Report (1976). Available online at: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA035346.pdf (Accessed June 24, 2025).
24. van der Beek JG, Dijkstra K-DB, van der Hoorn BB, Boerlijst SP, Busscher L, Kok ML, et al. Taxonomy, ecology and distribution of the mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) of the Dutch Leeward Islands, with a key to the adults and fourth instar larvae. (2020) 89:373–92. doi: 10.1163/18759866-bja10005
25. Gutiérrez-Bugallo G, Boullis A, Martinez Y, Hery L, Rodríguez M, Bisset JA, et al. Vector competence of Aedes aEgypti from Havana, Cuba, for dengue virus type 1, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. PloS Negl Trop Dis. (2020) 14:e0008941. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008941
26. Gabiane G, Bohers C, Mousson L, Obadia T, Dinglasan RR, Vazeille M, et al. Evaluating vector competence for Yellow fever in the Caribbean. Nat Commun. (2024) 15:1236. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45116-2
27. Poole-Smith BK, Hemme RR, Delorey M, Felix G, Gonzalez AL, Amador M, et al. Comparison of Vector Competence of Aedes mediovittatus and Aedes aEgypti for Dengue Virus: Implications for Dengue Control in the Caribbean. PloS Negl Trop Dis. (2015) 9:e0003462. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003462
28. Takken W and Verhulst NO. Host preferences of blood-feeding mosquitoes. Annu Rev Entomol. (2013) 58:433–53. doi: 10.1146/annurev-ento-120811-153618
29. Understanding host utilization by mosquitoes: determinants, challenges and future directions - Yan - 2021 - Biological Reviews . Wiley Online Library. Available online at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12706 (Accessed June 30, 2025).
30. González MA, Bravo-Barriga D, Rodríguez-Sosa MA, Rueda J, Frontera E, and Alarcón-Elbal PM. Species diversity, habitat distribution, and blood meal analysis of haematophagous dipterans collected by CDC-UV light traps in the Dominican Republic. Pathogens. (2022) 11:714. doi: 10.3390/pathogens11070714
31. Chala B and Hamde F. Emerging and re-emerging vector-borne infectious diseases and the challenges for control: A review. Front Public Health. (2021) 9:715759. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.715759
32. Ortiz DI, Piche-Ovares M, Romero-Vega LM, Wagman J, and Troyo A. The impact of deforestation, urbanization, and changing land use patterns on the ecology of mosquito and tick-borne diseases in Central America. Insects. (2022) 13:20. doi: 10.3390/insects13010020
33. Kelman I. Islandness within climate change narratives of Small Island developing states (SIDS). Isl Stud J. (2018) 13:149–66. doi: 10.24043/isj.52
34. Abbasi E. The impact of climate change on travel-related vector-borne diseases: A case study on dengue virus transmission. Travel Med Infect Dis. (2025) 65:102841. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2025.102841
35. Tjaden NB, Caminade C, Beierkuhnlein C, and Thomas SM. Mosquito-borne diseases: advances in modelling climate-change impacts. Trends Parasitol. (2018) 34:227–45. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2017.11.006
36. Caminade C, McIntyre KM, and Jones AE. Impact of recent and future climate change on vector-borne diseases. Ann N Y Acad Sci. (2019) 1436:157–73. doi: 10.1111/nyas.13950
37. Cano-Pérez E, González-Beltrán M, Ampuero JS, Gómez-Camargo D, Morrison AC, and Astete H. Prevalence of mosquito populations in the caribbean region of Colombia with important public health implications. Trop Med Infect Dis. (2023) 8:11. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed8010011
38. Ruiz A, Gutiérrez-Bugallo G, Rodríguez-Roche R, Pérez L, González-Broche R, Piedra LA, et al. First report of natural Wolbachia infections in mosquitoes from Cuba. Acta Trop. (2023) 242:106891. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2023.106891
Keywords: Caribbean, surveillance, vector, invasive, mosquito
Citation: Ali RLMN, Winter-Reece NS and Sandiford SL (2025) Bridging the gap: understanding arboviral vectors in the Caribbean. Front. Trop. Dis. 6:1621421. doi: 10.3389/fitd.2025.1621421
Received: 02 May 2025; Accepted: 21 July 2025;
Published: 01 September 2025.
Edited by:
Pedro María Alarcón-Elbal, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, SpainReviewed by:
Jiayue Yan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United StatesDonald A. Yee, University of Southern Mississippi, United States
Charles Mbogo, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Kenya
Copyright © 2025 Ali, Winter-Reece and Sandiford. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Simone L. Sandiford, c2ltb25lLnNhbmRpZm9yZEB1d2ltb25hLmVkdS5qbQ==
†These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship