impaginato piccolo - Società Italiana di Parassitologia (SoIPa)

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Fig. 2. Periferal Districts of Rome where foci of Aedes
albopictus were firsr recorded in 1997.
ISS are processed weekly from the system, creating thematic
maps to be used for the planning of subsequent
interventions. Currently stored data on seven years of
management (2001-2007), allowing the study of
trends, evaluating the effectiveness of interventions
carried out across the city and at any time.
The application of this methodology allows work to display
in real time the performance of an individual in the
various sectors and identification of areas to make
treatments to prevent the onset of.
Interventions carried out by AMA go in the period from
April to October, are antilarval treatments and are
developed at a frequency that affect public areas such
as manholes roads, schools, cemeteries, senior citizens
centres and other contexts identified as subjects of
intervention. The Municipality of Rome, by 2000
launched a widespread information campaign (through
leaflets, brochures, posters, web pages and press releases),
and issue annually a Mayor Ordinance contains
provisions designed to prevent the spread of Asian
Tiger Mosquito. The effectiveness of the contrast action
to the spread of this insect is closely related to the
cooperation of citizens, it is now understood the importance
of shifting their attention to the control of its territory
housing, because only through their intervention
was possible reach and neutralise the millions of small
domestic focus. Through AMA, the Municipality of
Rome provides citizens with a call center which collects
reports of citizens and provides suggestions for the
adoption of correct behaviour to counter the spread of
this insect. Through AMA, the Municipality of Rome
provides citizens with a call center which collects
reports of citizens and provides suggestions for the
adoption of correct behaviour to counter the spread of
this insect. The methodology of control over territory
are taken into consideration two indices of a direct
(results of the monitoring) and an indirect (number of
reports received the call center).
The first with the egg counts indicates the numerical
presence of female mosquito and their reproductive
B. Cignini et al. - The ten-year experience
potential, the second indicates the presence of this
insect through the discomfort felt by the citizens.
Evolution of the Asian Tiger Mosquito in the
Municipality of Rome
The Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus) was first
reported in Rome in late August 1997 in remote areas
of northwest quadrant (Montespaccato) in the southeast
quadrant (Tor Carbone) thanks to the numerous
reports from citizens (Figure 2).
In 1998 began the first campaign to combat the spread
of this insect entrusting monitoring activity at the ISS
and the interventions at the AMA. Despite the timely
intervention by the Municipality of Rome, in the following
3 years, the Asian Tiger Mosquito is spreading
as leopard spot in the urban territory, until in 2002 to
spread through all the city territory.
In 2003 the infestation is falling from north-east of the
city, recording the lowest values in VII and VIII
District, from 2006 there has been a gradual and slow
decline of the urban territory until to stabilise in 2007
(Figures 3 and 4).
Conclusions
The experience in ten years of activity to control the
spread of Asian Tiger Mosquito leads us to infer that in
the city of Rome this insect develops in a myriad of
micro focus present particularly in private areas, while
in communal areas they are consisting almost exclusively
from machicolations. As machicolations with the
presence of water represent a small percentage of all
those present in the city, is in course their census to
limit treatments to those potentially positive.
Another development will be the integration into
Geographical Informatic System, of the census of several
kinds of manholes roads and green areas in different
public and private as well as all the features of the
area that may be related to the presence of the Asian
Tiger Mosquito. As highlighted by the decline in population
density of the Asian Tiger Mosquito the currently
situation in Rome can be considered under control,
and this positive result can be attributed to good organization
of the annual programme conducted by the
Municipality of Rome, which allows targeted interventions
in hazardous or highly infested and the information
campaign that has responsible citizens transforming
from spectators to players who helped themselves
to the containment of this phenomenon. This methodology
of work as well as allowing the display of realtime
trends, allows mainly to identify in advance areas
at risk of infestation higher is not just on account of the
importance that health care could be the presence of
this insect as a potential carrier of diseases transmitted
by Arbovirus. The presence in a multiethnic city like
Rome, by peoples from countries where these diseases
are endemic, makes it theoretically possible arise epidemical
episodes of Dengue or Fever by Chikungunya,
and is for this reason that the Municipality of Rome
considers this insect a “special watched.