Data from: The global compendium of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus occurrence

Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are the main vectors transmitting dengue
and chikungunya viruses. Despite being pathogens of global public health
importance, knowledge of their vectors’ global distribution remains patchy
and sparse. A global geographic database of known occurrences of Ae.
aegypti and Ae. albopictus between 1960 and 2014 was compiled. Herein we
present the database, which comprises occurrence data linked to point or
polygon locations, derived from peer-reviewed literature and unpublished
studies including national entomological surveys and expert networks. We
describe all data collection processes, as well as geo-positioning
methods, database management and quality-control procedures. This is the
first comprehensive global database of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus
occurrence, consisting of 19,930 and 22,137 geo-positioned occurrence
records respectively. Both datasets can be used for a variety of mapping
and spatial analyses of the vectors and, by inference, the diseases they
transmit.