Objective To investigate mosquito in Yunnan province, China, as well as the population density, distribution, regional differences, and breeding habits of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus in main urban areas. Methods Breteau index (BI) was used to investigate Aedes in the main urban areas of 129 counties, cities, and districts of Yunnan province, and all water containers in residential areas and special places (including park and green spaces in the urban area, recycling stations, tire collection stations, and hospitals) were checked. Water containers infested with larvae or pupae of Aedes vector were marked as positive, and the larvae in positive containers were collected and morphologically identified. Descriptive statistics was used to describe general information; the Chi-square test was used to investigate the difference in Aedes breeding sites between different areas and ecological environments, and the Chi-square test for trend was used to investigate the association between altitude and mosquito breeding density. Results Among the 129 counties, cities, and districts of Yunnan province, 71 (55.04%) were found to have Aedes vector, among which 68 (52.71%) were found to have Ae. albopictus alone and 3 (2.33%) were found to have both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. A total of 37 198 households were investigated, among which 1 068 households were positive for Aedes; a total of 167 206 water containers were found, among which 2 135 were positive, with a mean BI of 5.74, a house index of 2.87%, and a container index (CI) of 1.28%. Special places had significantly higher BI and CI than residential areas ( χ ²=4 509.220 and 128.591, both P<0.001). Tires were the most common type of water container and accounted for 44.84%, followed by other temporary containers (12.55%) and buckets (13.64%). Tires had the highest positive rate of 1.73%, followed by buckets (1.25%), other temporary containers (1.02%), waste bottles (0.95%), pool (0.59%), other permanent containers (0.56%), and vase (0.48%). In terms of water containers, Dehong Dai and Jingpo autonomous prefecture had the highest positive rate of 8.72% (583/6 689), followed by Honghe Hani and Yi autonomous prefecture (285/10 053, 2.83%), Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture (124/4 587, 2.70%), Wenshan Zhuang and Miao autonomous prefecture (271/10 662, 2.54%), and Pu'er city (308/12 691, 2.43%). Among the 2 135 positive containers, 1 849 (86.60%) were found to have Ae. albopictus, 251 (11.76%) were found to have Ae. aegypti, and 35 (1.64%) were found to have both Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti. The composition of Ae. aegypti was 79.66% in Mengla county, 67.03% in Ruili city, and 34.55% in Jinghong city, and there was a significant difference between them ( χ ²=28.194, P<0.001). The Chi-square test for trend showed a linear relationship between Aedes breeding rate and altitude ( χ ²=1 413.993, P<0.001), and Aedes breeding rate gradually decreased with the increase in altitude. Conclusion Ae. albopictus is widely distributed in Yunnan province and Ae. aegypti has become the dominant species in some areas. Special places have a higher breeding rate of Aedes than residential areas, and border regions tend to have a high mosquito density. The density of Aedes vector gradually decreases with the increase in altitude, and no Aedes breeding is observed in the places with an altitude above 2 000 m. Buckets, tires, and waste cans are the main contributors for Aedes breeding in residential areas, while tires and other waste containers are the main contributors for Aedes breeding in special places.

Both dengue fever (DF) and chikungunya fever (CHIKF) are important mosquito-borne viral diseases with global distribution, and these two diseases have relatively similar epidemiological and clinical features, with the main vectors of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus. The local epidemic of DF occurred in China-Myanmar and China-Laos border areas of Yunnan province, China every year in 2013-2019, and it also occurred in China-Vietnam border area in 2019, while the local epidemic of CHIKF occurred in China-Myanmar border area for the first time in 2019. The imported cases of DF and CHIKF from Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and/or Vietnam were the main cause of the local epidemic of these two diseases in Yunnan province. The special geographical location and ecological environment of Yunnan province are suitable for the breeding of the vector Aedes mosquitoes and the transmission of DF and CHIKF viruses. There are still high risks of re-epidemic or pandemic of DF and CHIKF in this region, with the possibility of endemic an severe cases of DF. At present, there is an urgent need to carry out in-depth research on the source of pathogens, the investigation of epidemic foci, clinical science, antibody level in population, and sustainable control of Aedes vectors, and meanwhile, control of cross-border spread, mosquito control, and joint prevention and control in China-Myanmar, China-Laos, and China-Vietnam border areas are the key prevention and control measures that need to be strengthened at present.

Objective To analyze the overall situation and development trends of professionals in pest control organization (PCO) in China. Methods The staff composition (including practice time, age and education background), training, remuneration and health insurance in this domestic industry were compared with the foreign counterparts. Results Professionals in China’s PCO had short practice time, wide-span age distribution, deficient experience, low educational level, unstable performance, poor remuneration and shortage of corresponding occupational health insurance, indicating significant difference with the same industry in foreign countries. Conclusion PCO professionals are the key to the development of an enterprise, or even the whole industry. Their quality is determinant of the industry’s overall service quality. With the overall improvement of the quality of PCO professionals in China, this industry will achieve rapid development and present a new image.

Ticks can transmit a wide range of pathogens, posing a serious threat to human and animal health. In order to lay the theoretical foundation for tick control in Asia and Africa, we review the reports published in the past five years on ticks and tick-borne pathogens in Mongolia, China (only Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Qinghai province), Pakistan, and Egypt along the migration routes of migratory birds. The highest number of tick species (51) were reported in Pakistan, followed by Xinjiang and Qinghai of China, Egypt, and Mongolia. Only 11 tick species were reported in Mongolia. Most of the ticks found in these regions belonged to the family Ixodidae. The majority of reported tick-borne pathogens were zoonotic, including the genera of Anaplasma, Rickettsia, and Coxiella. Birds are hosts of various ticks and potential carriers of tick-borne pathogens. Therefore, the migration of birds from East Africa to West Asia may facilitate the spread of ticks and tick-borne pathogens along these regions.