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Project

Enabling Business and Technologies to Contribute to the Control of Mosquito-Borne Diseases in Latin America
 

Mexico
Project ID
109071
Total Funding
CAD 535,300.00
IDRC Officer
Roberto Bazzani
Project Status
Completed
End Date
Duration
24 months

Programs and partnerships

Lead institution(s)

Project leader:
Jorge Méndez Galván
Mexico

Project leader:
Pablo Manrique
Mexico

Summary

Aedes mosquito-transmitted illnesses, namely dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, have become a major burden of disease in Latin America and the Caribbean, where vector control programs have not been able to reduce the risk of disease transmission.
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Aedes mosquito-transmitted illnesses, namely dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, have become a major burden of disease in Latin America and the Caribbean, where vector control programs have not been able to reduce the risk of disease transmission.

IDRC and the Sao Paulo Research Foundation have partnered to promote and assess the role of small businesses in the development of new Aedes mosquito control technologies. Two research studies will take place in Mexico, where 60% of the territory, representing more than 50 million people, presents favorable conditions for the incidence of the Aedes mosquito. These studies will generate scientific evidence to support house screening as an effective and affordable vector tool in the city of Merida. It will also assess the efficacy, acceptability, and biosecurity of a paint that has the effect of prolonged residual insecticide in the city of Pochutla.

Local partners Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán and CodeQuim, a vector control company, will implement the project. Senior researchers, small businesses, decision-makers and community representatives will be involved in both studies. Cost-effectiveness studies will assess the affordability of the proposed vector control tools. Subject to results, both the house screening and insecticide paint are promising tools to be applied in the context of integrated vector management. They are expected to contribute to national and/or state-level public health efforts to reduce the risk of Aedes-transmitted diseases and to be replicated in other Mexican cities. The project will document lessons learned about the role of small business in enhancing community access to vector control tools and assess the factors that influence their capacity to develop and speed up the time-to-market of Aedes control technologies.

Research outputs

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Paper
Language:

English

Summary

Vector control is, and will continue to be, an essential component of dengue prevention programs, but in modern cities with highly mobile human populations and inadequate vector control infrastructure the global burden of dengue is increasing. This is in part because effective vector control is difficult to achieve and sustain. Despite these challenges, past successes indicate that when it is carefully and thoroughly applied, mosquito control will reduce dengue, particularly when targeting Aedes aegypti in urban habitats. Herein we review insecticide-based approaches for dengue vector control. We conclude that to fight dengue it is important to use locally derived and adapted vector control tools and strategies.

Author(s)
Ritchie, Scott A.
Paper
Language:

English

Summary

After the tropical storm Cristobal, we performed special adult entomological collections in the peri-domicile of 35 houses from 25 neighborhoods of Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico in response to complaints from the community about an increased nuisance due to an abundance of mosquitoes. A total of 1,275 specimens from four genera and 13 species were collected: Aedes taeniorhynchus (92%), Culex quinquefasciatus (72%), Aedes aegypti (72%), Psorophora mexicana (36%), Psorophora cyanescens (32%), Aedes scapularis (24%), Culex nigripalpus (24%), Aedes albopictus (8%), Psorophora ferox (4%), Haemagogus equinus (4%), Aedes trivittatus (4%), Culex coronator (4%), Culex iolambdis (4%). From these collections, the increased mosquito nuisance was mainly the result of invasive species such as Aedes taeniorhynchus and Psorophora. City wide, vehicle mounted ULV spraying was performed by the MoH and the municipality of Merida to control adult mosquito populations. We report Culex iolambdis for the first time in Merida and Psorophora mexicana for the state of Yucatan.

Author(s)
Navarrete‑Carballo, Juan
Informes
Language:

Spanish

Summary
Author(s)
Méndez Galván, Jorge
Article
Language:

English

Summary

Objective: To evaluate the protective effect of house screening (HS) on indoor Aedes aegypti infestation, abundance and arboviral infection in Merida, Mexico. Methods: In 2019, we performed a cluster randomised controlled trial (6 control and 6 intervention areas: 100 households/area). Intervention clusters received permanently fixed fiberglass HS on all windows and doors. The study included two cross-sectional entomologic surveys, one baseline (dry season in May 2019) and one post-intervention (PI, rainy season between September and October 2019). The presence and number of indoor Aedes females and blood-fed females (indoor mosquito infestation) as well as arboviral infections with dengue (DENV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses were evaluated in a subsample of 30 houses within each cluster. Results: HS houses had significantly lower risk for having Aedes aegypti female mosquitoes (odds ratio [OR] = 0.56, 95% CI 0.33–0.97, p = 0.04) and blood-fed females (OR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.28–0.97, p = 0.04) than unscreened households from the control arm. Compared to control houses, HS houses had significantly lower indoor Ae. Aegypti abundance (rate ratio [RR] = 0.50, 95% CI 0.30–0.83, p = 0.01), blood-fed Ae. Aegypti females (RR = 0.48, 95% CI 0.27–0.85, p = 0.01) and female Ae. aegypti positive for arboviruses (OR = 0.29, 95% CI 0.10–0.86, p = 0.02). The estimated intervention efficacy in reducing Ae. Aegypti arbovirus infection was 71%. Conclusions: These results provide evidence supporting the use of HS as an effective pesticide-free method to control house infestations with Aedes aegypti and reduce the transmission of Aedes-transmitted viruses such as DENV, chikungunya (CHIKV) and ZIKV.

Author(s)
Manrique- Saide, Pablo
Report
Language:

English

Summary

Houses with house-screening (HS) compared to regular netting/unprotected households, had significatively lower risk for having Ae. aegypti female mosquitoes (OR=0.56, 95% C. I. 0.33-0.99) and blood-fed females (OR=0.53, 95% C. I. 0.28-0.97). All project participants were satisfied with the installation process and positive about the efficacy because of perceived significant reductions of mosquito in their houses (>80%). All participants recommended scaling up of the intervention. The technical report provides details of screen installation, participant perspectives, project implementation, cost-benefit analysis and findings. Urban improvements that reduce mosquito populations, especially disease vectors are an important component of sustainable development. The report is in English and Spanish.

Author(s)
Saide, Pablo Manrique
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