Preliminary results on the control of Aedes spp. in a remote Guatemalan community vulnerable to dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus: community participation and use of low-cost ecological ovillantas for mosquito control

Abstract

Objective: To study the effectiveness of an integrated intervention of health worker training, a low-cost ecological mosquito ovitrap, and community engagement on Aedes spp. mosquito control over 10 months in 2015 in an urban remote community in Guatemala at risk of dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus transmission. Methods: We implemented a three-component integrated intervention consisting of: web-based training of local health personnel in vector control, cluster-randomized assignment of an ecological modified ovitrap (ovillantas: ovi=egg, llanta=tire) or standard ovitraps to capture Aedes spp. mosquito eggs (no efforts have been taken to determine the exact Aedes species at this moment), and community engagement to promote participation of community members and health personnel in the understanding and maintenance of ovitraps for mosquito control. The intervention was implemented in local collaboration with Guatemala’s Ministry of Health’s Vector Control Programme, and in international collaboration with the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico. Findings: Eighty percent of the 25 local health personnel enrolled in the training programme received accreditation of their improved knowledge of vector control. When ovillantas were used in a cluster of ovitraps (several in proximity), significantly more eggs were trapped by ecological ovillantas than standard ovitraps over the 10 month (42 week) study period (t=5.2577; p<0.05). Repetitive filtering and recycling of the attractant solution (or water) kept the ovillanta clean, free from algae growth. Among both community members and health workers, the levels of knowledge, interest, and participation in community mosquito control and trapping increased. Recommendations for enhancing and sustaining community mosquito control were identified. Conclusion: Our three-component integrated intervention proved beneficial to this remote community at risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. The combination of training of health workers, cluster use of low-cost ecological ovillanta to destroy the second generation of mosquitoes, and community engagement ensured the project met local needs and fostered collaboration and participation of the community, which can help improve sustainability. The ovillanta intervention and methodology may be modified to target other species such as Culex, should it be established that such mosquitoes carry Zika virus in addition to Aedes.

Community participation and community engagement in the response to the Zika-Virus-Outbreak in Latin America 2015-2019 - A Scoping Review

“…Some types of programmes have been implemented to control the mosquito borne diseases Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya through vector management. [48-50, 52, 53, 57, 59, 62-69] Some studies focused on awareness healthcare campaigns about the sexual transmission of Zika virus and contraception programmes. [8, 32-37, 54, 75] Others discussed a family support approach and provided information about family support services.…”

“…Among the studies, which reported mosquito vector control initiatives, several publications reported community engagement projects of mosquito vector control and described the active involvement of communities into the planning, developing and implementation process of an initiative. [48, 50, 57, 59, 62, 64-66] . A community-based participatory approach was provided among a community in the Amazon basin of Peru and at the same time among a community in Thailand.…”

Urban Ecology and the Effectiveness of Aedes Control

“…Because "egg-laying females were most attracted to sites containing other immature Aedes, rather than to sites containing the most food" [9], home traps could become especially attractive to gravid females, and therefore be disproportionally important in reducing the mosquito population. Alternatively, attractants can be added to encourage mosquitoes to preferentially use lethal ovitraps that can be managed or left to biodegrade rather than inaccessible natural PBRPs [32][33][34]. The Mosquito Drain posits that it is not necessary to eliminate all breeding sites to cause the population to crash, which would not be practicable anyway, but that by (i) removing manageable breeding sites (e.g.…”

Efficacy of 2 Commercial Formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis H-14 in Larvae of Anopheles albimanus W and Aedes aegypti L (Diptera: culicidae).

“…World Health Assembly, due to the high toxicity, low selectivity of chemical pesticides and the increase resistance of the species, recommended to use new methods of vector control, such as biological (16). In this sense, vector control is no longer based only on applying chemical agents, for the above environmental reasons; a study with ovillantas in 2017 showed that the decrease in Aedes spp can be due to the implementation of a simple ovillanta (with no chemicals) and the active participation of the community in the affected area (17). In this study, according to preliminary calculations, the systematic elimination of larvae and eggs in the application area, caused a reduction of up to 77% of Aedes spp.…”