The third International Workshop on Aedes albopictus: building scientific alliances in the fight against the globally invasive Asian tiger mosquito

From April 10–12 2017 scientists from around the world gathered in Pavia, Italy, to attend a workshop at the Palazzo Bellisomi-Vistarino hosted by the University of Pavia and dedicated to the latest research on the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus. This biennial meeting was first convened in Pavia in March 2013 in response to the growing threat of this highly invasive mosquito species that can transmit several arboviruses of global public health significance including dengue, zika, and chikungunya viruses. Reflecting the native territories from which this mosquito has spread, the 2015 meeting was hosted by the Southern Medical University of Guangzhou, China. Returning to Europe in 2017, the meeting’s scientific organizing committee was made up of Mariangela Bonizzoni and Giuliano Gasperi from the University of Pavia, who led the workshop, along with Andrea Crisanti from Imperial College, London (United Kingdom), Xiaoguang Chen from the Southern Medical University of Guangzhou (China), and Guiyun Yan from the University of California Irvine (United States of America). This report aims to inform the broader global health community of progress in Ae. albopictus research by providing several highlights of the results presented and discussed at the meeting, and to encourage participation in future workshops. The University of Pavia and the Southern Medical University of Guangzhou have signed a joint agreement to maintain support for running this workshop biennially between the two universities.