Journal
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MOSQUITO CONTROL ASSOCIATION
Volume 37, Issue 1, Pages 10-19Publisher
AMER MOSQUITO CONTROL ASSOC
Keywords
Aedes aegypti; arbovirus; Hispaniola; larval indices; water-holding container
Categories
Funding
- Tulane University (United States Agency for International Development [USAID] -Break-through Project) [AID-OAAA-A-17-00018]
- Universidad Iberoamericana [AID-OAAA-A-17-00018]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study revealed that household water storage containers in the Dominican Republic are ideal breeding grounds for synanthropic mosquitoes, including important disease vectors like Aedes aegypti. The larval indices in most neighborhoods exceeded accepted threshold values, and the presence of Aedes spp. was closely related to the availability of water-holding containers.
Mosquito-borne diseases are a major public health concern in the Caribbean. Domestic water storage containers are preferred breeding habitats for synanthropic mosquito species, among which Aedes aegypti stands out due to its role in arbovirus transmission. To determine the microenvironmental features associated with container-dwelling mosquitoes, a house-to-house cross-sectional entomological survey was carried out in 9 Dominican provinces affected by Zika virus in 2016. All containers with the potential to store water were sampled, all immature mosquitoes were collected, and information on the type, capacity, volume of stored water, building material, presence of flowers, and house location was documented. The specimens were identified and larval indices (House index [HI], Container index [CI], Breteau index [BI], and Ae. aegypti Breeding Percentage) were applied. A total of 665 dwellings were surveyed across 30 neighborhoods. A total of 1,420 water-filled container habitats were sampled, 19.3% of which harbored immature mosquitoes of 5 species, including 4 important vectors. The dominance of Ae. aegypti was marked, as it was present in all sampled neighborhoods, inhabiting 272 containers (19.1%). Larval indices were higher than the threshold values accepted (5% for the HI and BI, and 3% for the CI) in almost all neighborhoods. The presence of Aedes spp. was associated with the serviceability of water-holding containers (chi(2) = 16.56522; P < 0.001), and the difference in volume between water-holding containers was associated with the presence of Aedes spp. infection (chi(2) = 4; P < 0.001), the containers up to 5 liters being the most infested. This is the first entomological research based on synanthropic mosquito breeding habitats that cover urban areas of the 3 macro-regions of the Dominican Republic.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available