Abstract: Moab is a small, rural town in southeastern Utah known for the surrounding national parks and outdoor recreational opportunities. Moab receives heavy tourist traffic with nearly three million visitors annually, yet there are only 5,500 permanent residents. Aedes aegypti was collected in Moab for the first time in 2019, but an aggressive vector control campaign eliminated the species prior to the end of the season. However, while Ae. aegypti was not collected during 2020, it was collected again in 2021 and 2022. There had been no known populations of Ae. aegypti in Moab prior to 2019. Moab is also outside of the original predicted range of Ae. aegypti estimated by the CDC. The Moab Mosquito Abatement District has a small team of employees, making it a challenge to handle routine mosquito concerns on top of an invasive mosquito.
Population genetic analysis was conducted on Ae. aegypti specimens collected from the 2019 and 2021 infestations. Specimens from 2019 were found to likely originate from Tucson, AZ. The specimens from 2021 were found to be unrelated to the 2019 specimens, but instead came from a source related to what invaded York, Nebraska in 2019, possibly from a southcentral or southeastern U.S. population. Specimens collected from 2022 are currently being analyzed.
Additionally, funding was received in 2022 from the Western Integrated Pest Management Center to implement an educational outreach campaign and a citizen science project geared towards reducing Ae. aegypti in Moab. Local students and residents participated in the monitoring of container breeding mosquitoes through the use of ovitraps. Moab Ae. aegypti eggs collected from ovitrap surveillance sites in 2022 will be investigated for insecticide resistance.
The operations and actions that were conducted in response to Ae. aegypti as well as the progress of an educational outreach campaign within Moab will be discussed.
