Mosquito Adaptation to the Extreme Habitats of Urban Construction Sites

Recent studies have shown that the proliferation of vector mosquitoes is partially attributable to construction sites.Very little is known about how environmental disturbances caused by construction sites impact vector mosquito ecology and behavior.There is a significant scientific gap on how to assess the risk of mosquito biting and arbovirus transmission in construction sites.In our opinion, it is critical to address how construction sites may be geographically and seasonally exposed to vector mosquitoes and their effect on the transmission of arboviruses in the surrounding communities and in the population as a whole.Research should also identify modifiable worker- and organizational-level factors that improve mosquito-control practices to guide future vector-control strategies in urban environments. The construction industry employs millions of workers in the USA. However, little is known about how environmental disturbances caused by the construction industry impacts vector mosquito ecology and behavior, and whether it is responsible for increasing the abundance of mosquitoes. There is a major scientific gap on how to assess the occupational exposure risk of mosquito biting and arbovirus transmission among outdoor worker populations who spend a disproportionate amount of time working outdoors. In our opinion, it is critical to address how construction workers and the surrounding communities may be geographically and seasonally exposed to vector mosquitoes. Research should identify modifiable worker- and organizational-level factors that improve worksite mosquito-control practices to give insights into future vector-control strategies in urban environments. The construction industry employs millions of workers in the USA. However, little is known about how environmental disturbances caused by the construction industry impacts vector mosquito ecology and behavior, and whether it is responsible for increasing the abundance of mosquitoes. There is a major scientific gap on how to assess the occupational exposure risk of mosquito biting and arbovirus transmission among outdoor worker populations who spend a disproportionate amount of time working outdoors. In our opinion, it is critical to address how construction workers and the surrounding communities may be geographically and seasonally exposed to vector mosquitoes. Research should identify modifiable worker- and organizational-level factors that improve worksite mosquito-control practices to give insights into future vector-control strategies in urban environments. In the late 19th century humanity entered a new geological era known as the Anthropocene (see Glossary), defined by man’s influence in modulating the environment on a level compared to that of the natural forces of planet Earth [1.Crutzen P.J. Geology of mankind.Nature. 2002; 415: 23Crossref PubMed Scopus (2388) Google Scholar]. Human migration from rural areas to urban areas, and the construction of new dwellings, has been increasing since then and, as a consequence, urbanization processes have been intensified to accommodate new residents, urbanizing adjacent peri-urban areas, increasing urban verticalization, and population density [2.United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.2014Crossref Google Scholar, 3.Johnson M.T.J. Munshi-South J. Evolution of life in urban environments.Science. 2017; 358eaam8327Crossref PubMed Scopus (370) Google Scholar, 4.Reba M. et al.Spatializing 6,000 years of global urbanization from 3700 BC to AD 2000.Sci. Data. 2016; 3: 1-16Crossref Scopus (50) Google Scholar]. Construction sites are an integral part of the urbanization process. They often lead to a significant disturbance in the environment, modifying land usage, increasing human presence, and generating significant amounts of waste, significantly affecting local fauna and flora [5.Knop E. Biotic homogenization of three insect groups due to urbanization.Glob. Chang. Biol. 2016; 22: 228-236Crossref PubMed Scopus (104) Google Scholar]. The construction industry in the USA alone spent approximately US$1.3 trillion in 2018, with more than 13 million new residential permits issued in the same period employing approximately 9.4 million workers on averagei [6.Bureau of Labor Statistics Employed Persons by Detailed Industry, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity. Labor Force Statistics from a Current Population Survey. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017: 230-234Google Scholar]. However, very little is known to what extent the environmental disturbances caused by the construction industry impact the biodiversity and abundance of mosquito vector species. Construction sites, especially geographically large ones, are complex and dynamic. Several employers work on one site simultaneously, with a mix of contractors changing with the phases of the project [7.Tserng H.P. et al.A study of ontology-based risk management framework of construction projects through project life cycle.Autom. Constr. 2009; 18: 994-1008Crossref Scopus (115) Google Scholar, 8.Bennet F.L. The Management of Construction: A Project Lifecycle Approach. Routledge, 2016Google Scholar]. Moreover, as the project develops, different building materials are brought to the worksite or, as the weather changes, the ambient conditions such as ventilation and temperature change too. In 2016, the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued empirical mosquito control guidelines considering the threat Zika virus poses for construction workersii. However, several features of construction sites (e.g., size, duration and phase, number and type of workers, presence and abundance of vector mosquito species) account for the effectiveness of vector-control guidelines in construction sites to effectively reduce the risk of arbovirus transmission. Therefore, effective safety measures and guidelines must account for the complex worker–mosquito interaction in the highly heterogeneous job site environment, in which several variables account for the assessment of the multifactorial risk of workers being exposed to vector mosquitoes. Indeed, the spread of mosquito-borne disease in the job-site environment represents a prototypical complex system, where the behaviors of human hosts and mosquito vectors mutually interplay and affect each other. This feedback cycle encompasses nonlinear dynamic aspects, emergent phenomena, and critical points that describe how each process affects the other both microscopically and macroscopically, in which a small change in a variable (e.g., mosquito abundance) can have a disproportionate effect on the risk of infection for workers. Here, we hypothesize that features associated with the proliferation of vector mosquitoes in construction sites are likely to vary across space, such that high and low levels of vector mosquitoes are concentrated in specific geographic areas according to the size of the construction site, the number of workers present at the job site, the project duration and phase, each with unique biological, environmental, and physical features and respectively associated risks for the production of mosquitoes and the transmission of vector-borne diseases. In perspective, a significant gap in the scientific literature includes worker- and organizational-level factors across the construction project life. The better understanding of these factors is needed for the development of more effective targeted evidence-based guidelines, tailor-made for construction workers, based on scientific evidence to support and potentially improve these guidelines aiming for the reduction of construction worker exposure to mosquito vectors of arboviruses. Urbanization processes are often responsible for reducing the overall biodiversity of species [9.McKinney M.L. Urbanization as a major cause of biotic homogenization.Biol. Conserv. 2006; 127: 247-260Crossref Scopus (2124) Google Scholar], leading to a decrease in the richness of species and subsequent increase in the abundance of selected species capable of prospering in urban environments in a nonrandom process of biodiversity loss [10.Medeiros-Sousa A.R. et al.Mosquitoes in urban green spaces: using an island biogeographic approach to identify drivers of species richness and composition.Sci. Rep. 2017; 717826Crossref PubMed Scopus (48) Google Scholar]. The mosquito vectors Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus are among the species that are able to thrive in such urban habitats amongst the human population [11.Kraemer M.U.G. et al.The global distribution of the arbovirus vectors Aedes aegypti and Ae. Albopictus.eLife. 2015; 4: 1-18Crossref Scopus (1037) Google Scholar, 12.Samy A.M. et al.Climate change influences on the global potential distribution of the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus, vector of West Nile virus and lymphatic filariasis.PLoS One. 2016; 11e0163863PubMed Google Scholar]. Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus are adapted to oviposit their eggs in artificial breeding habitats that are often widely available in construction sites, in which immature mosquitoes can develop without predators and blood feed on the exposed construction workers [13.McKinney M.L. Urbanization, biodiversity, and conservation.Bioscience. 2002; 52: 883-890Crossref Scopus (2315) Google Scholar, 14.Wilke A.B.B. et al.Construction sites in Miami-Dade County, Florida are highly favorable environments for vector mosquitoes.PLoS One. 2018; 13e0209625Crossref PubMed Scopus (10) Google Scholar]. Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus are responsible for transmitting many arboviruses, such as dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika viruses [15.Brown J.E. et al.Human impacts have shaped historical and recent evolution in Aedes aegypti, the dengue and yellow fever mosquito.Evolution. 2014; 68: 514-525Crossref PubMed Scopus (168) Google Scholar, 16.Gubler D.J. Dengue, urbanization and globalization: the unholy trinity of the 21st Century.Trop. Med. Health. 2011; 39: S3-S11Crossref PubMed Scopus (576) Google Scholar, 17.Couto-Lima D. et al.Potential risk of re-emergence of urban transmission of yellow fever virus in Brazil facilitated by competent Aedes populations.Sci. Rep. 2017; 7: 4848Crossref PubMed Scopus (121) Google Scholar, 18.Faria N.R. et al.Establishment and cryptic transmission of Zika virus in Brazil and the Americas.Nature. 2017; 546: 406-410Crossref PubMed Scopus (317) Google Scholar, 19.Rezza G. Aedes albopictus and the reemergence of dengue.BMC Pub. Health. 2012; 12: 72Crossref PubMed Scopus (132) Google Scholar], and West Nile and Eastern Equine Encephalitis viruses [20.Kramer L.D. et al.A global perspective on the epidemiology of West Nile virus.Annu. Rev. Entomol. 2008; 53: 61-81Crossref PubMed Scopus (365) Google Scholar, 21.Musso D. et al.Unexpected outbreaks of arbovirus infections: lessons learned from the Pacific and tropical America.Lancet Infect. Dis. 2018; 18: e355-e361Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (54) Google Scholar] respectively. Research done in Miami-Dade County, Florida, by Wilke et al. [14.Wilke A.B.B. et al.Construction sites in Miami-Dade County, Florida are highly favorable environments for vector mosquitoes.PLoS One. 2018; 13e0209625Crossref PubMed Scopus (10) Google Scholar] found that immature and adult Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus were breeding in high numbers at construction sites in the accumulated stagnant water in elevator and stair shafts, Jersey plastic barriers, and on puddles on the floor (Figure 1A–C ). Findings of this study provided information on how early-phase construction sites are often vulnerable to ambient elements and may collect rain and groundwater on the widely available artificial containers spread out throughout the area. These mosquito-breeding sites provide Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus with suitable conditions to freely reproduce and populate construction sites. The construction sites surveyed by Wilke et al. had a reduced species biodiversity, and even though 13 different mosquito species were collected in this study, Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus comprised 95% of all the 3351 mosquitoes collected and were the only species found in their immature form breeding inside construction sites. that construction sites have highly favorable habitats for vector mosquitoes adapted to urban environments. However, the size and of the construction is a of information on the construction sites and mosquito The of construction sites in the proliferation of vector mosquitoes has been and and is for the part There are only a studies available on the and many of construction sites as for urban Culex in 3: Google Scholar, et of the construction industry in mosquito breeding in and the J. 2014; 3: Scholar, et in three species of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus, from PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, et of Aedes breeding habitats for urban building in 2016; Scholar, et to and building construction in 2009; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar]. the effect of construction sites on the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases. Moreover, studies on in the species of mosquito and their abundance according to in weather the of and specific physical are also the of studies on this the Zika virus in Miami-Dade in 2016, construction workers from the with infection brought the Zika virus to and were by Ae. aegypti mosquitoes breeding in high numbers at a construction site in the of Florida, a Zika virus et mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus Miami-Dade and Florida, Rep. 2016; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, et virus in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Infect. Dis. 2018; Scopus (10) Google Scholar]. the Miami-Dade issued a for the risk of the proliferation of mosquitoes in construction sites (see in the information have for construction worker safety due to the these may risks for and such as leading to worker and even D.J. Dengue, urbanization and globalization: the unholy trinity of the 21st Century.Trop. Med. Health. 2011; 39: S3-S11Crossref PubMed Scopus (576) Google Scholar, et and change the of Zika virus in the Dis. 2017; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, J.E. et an of a Infect. Dis. 2009; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar]. The arboviruses can be into the construction job sites by workers who to other in where is transmission and then to their job with (e.g., of Zika are et virus on States of J. Med. 2009; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar] and as for the arboviruses. Construction workers are available in large numbers and spend a amount of the being exposed to vector mosquitoes present in high numbers at the job Moreover, by safety guidelines and such as the of accumulated and construction are available many potential breeding habitats for mosquito vector species (Figure The development of effective safety guidelines to reduce the risk of construction workers to the presence of arbovirus mosquito vectors on on how construction site environments are the population of vector and the interaction mosquito and construction workers. is of to and into effective safety guidelines and practices for the construction workers and construction into account how vector mosquitoes are and in habitats by construction sites et in of Aedes aegypti population Dis. PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, M. et outdoor exposure affects the transmission and spread of Zika insights for Dis. 2017; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar]. Several that worker safety and is the of a complex interplay of factors the worker and the work environment, as as of the in which both the worker and the construction work site are et control practices and Zika among outdoor construction workers in Miami-Dade County, Med. 2017; PubMed Scopus (10) Google Scholar, et among construction a unique J. Med. 2011; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar]. studies should the through which the worker- and organizational-level factors are to influence mosquito-control these these it to mosquito-control that are and for this construction worker to work potentially hypothesize that these and practices impact mosquito-control practices for several In and have been shown to be associated with mosquito-control practices safety management in construction Scopus Google Scholar, M. of safety at construction PubMed Scopus Google Scholar]. The physical work environment of the construction site may also provide for in mosquito-control for by the of mosquito of sites, and of to water et to on mosquito control practices and Zika among outdoor construction a Med. 2017; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar]. in this and practices are the which how work is They are the conditions that conditions The new approach to physical and in E. for Scholar]. In for the it be to and for in mosquito-control The arboviruses, such as Zika and are of high Ae. aegypti is highly and biting the outdoor construction workers are vulnerable D.J. Dengue, urbanization and globalization: the unholy trinity of the 21st Century.Trop. Med. Health. 2011; 39: S3-S11Crossref PubMed Scopus (576) Google Scholar, et al.The Zika virus in 2016; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, et epidemiology of Zika virus into the United 2017; 546: PubMed Scopus Google Scholar]. is how worker and safety at outdoor construction sites may be geographically and seasonally by their exposure to the of mosquito vectors of arboviruses. risks to construction site workers are is a of scientific information on how construction sites favorable conditions for mosquitoes it is to what extent mosquitoes are blood on construction workers and in breeding sites by construction it is how construction workers are seasonally exposed to the of mosquitoes or how this risk across the risks of workers exposed to mosquitoes and the effect of construction sites in the epidemiology of arbovirus at the population level is even more However, as shown by the Zika in Miami-Dade County, we the that construction sites may both as an of the transmission and as a for et mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus Miami-Dade and Florida, Rep. 2016; PubMed Scopus Google Scholar, et virus in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Infect. Dis. 2018; Scopus (10) Google Scholar]. 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