Latin American Symposium
Latin American Symposium
One of the main projects of the current government of Mexico (2018–2024) is the construction of a tourist train, named the ¨Mayan train”. This train is built mainly in southwestern Mexico, including the states of Tabasco, Chiapas, and the Yucatan Peninsula, including the states of Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo. The train route passes through several conserved rainforests and tropical regions. Therefore, some rainforest has been deforested for the railway installation works. During these activities, diverse vector-borne diseases were reported among train workers. To document the species of mosquitoes present in a section of the Mayan train in the state of Quintana Roo, mosquito collection was conducted during the dry season of 2023, in conserved areas around the Mayan train track in the municipalities of Bacalar, Othon P. Blanco, and Chetumal. Mosquitoes were collected using CDC light traps, Shannon traps with protected human bait, approaching humans, and immature stages were collected from natural and artificial water bodies. Collected specimens were labeled and transported to the Center for Research and Development in Health Sciences, UANL in Monterrey, for mounting and identification. 19 species were collected, including two new records for Quintana Roo: Culex metempsytus Dyar and C. spissipes (Theobald).