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BackgroundDengue is an arbovirus disease that threatens approximately 200 million people annually worldwide. Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) is anthropophilic mosquito, extremely well adapted to the urban environment and utilizes varied habitats for egg-laying and development. This study analysed the distribution of mosquito larvae and eggs in urban area of Santa Bárbara dʼOeste, São Paulo, Brazil. The spatial correlation between locations in which people store recyclable materials and the distribution of larvae and eggs were verified.MethodsLarvae and ovitrap egg collections were conducted from 2014 to 2016. All persons who stored recyclable materials for living were registered and georeferenced. The Mann-Kendall test was used to verify spatial and temporal trends in the number of eggs and larvae/pupae. Euclidian distance map was constructed to correlate recyclable collectors and Ae. aegypti, and Moranʼs index was employed to verify their spatial autocorrelation and identification of groupings.ResultsA total of 137,825 eggs and 16,393 larvae were collected in different habitats from 2014 to 2016. The analyses showed that there was a spatial correlation between larvae and eggs collected, and these two kinds of surveys also presented a spatial correlation with the handling of recyclable materials. The results of the analyses showed significant spatial correlations between eggs and recyclable material collectors and between larvae and collectors.ConclusionThe entomological surveillance conducted using ovitraps as a proxy for the presence of Ae. aegypti is an efficient and sensitive method for monitoring the presence of mosquitoes and the impact of interventions employed for decreasing vector populations. Mosquito surveys employing ovitraps should be used more often in routine activities aiming to control dengue through vector control interventions. The locations used to store recyclable materials have a significant relationship with the maintenance of the dengue virus infection in the area. Further studies will be needed to analyse the contribution of recyclable locations, for which there is no ideal infrastructure to minimize the potential use of these materials as mosquito habitats. The entomological surveillance focused on locations of recyclable materials involving interventions that are different from those commonly used in Ae. aegypti control.

The control of dengue constitutes a great challenge for public health; however, the methods normally used have shown themselves to be insufficient to keep the indices of infestation of Aedes aegypti under control. Recently, beyond the large number of cases and deaths associated with dengue, new risks have arisen such as those represented by chikungunya fever and Zika. In the light of the great significance of these problems within the public health context, two areas in a municipality in the interior of the State of São Paulo, Brazil were selected in 2014. One of them, Bairro Cidade Nova, was submitted to the conventional method of nebulization with portable equipment, and the other, Bairro Jardim Europa, received the application of the insecticide by means of heavy-equipment coupled to the vehicle. During the project, 1355 mosquito eggs were collected, 1105 of them in Bairro Cidade Nova and 205 in Bairro Jardim Europa. After the applications with heavy-equipment in the months of March and April, the number of cases of the disease reported in the month of April for Bairro Jardim Europa was less than half that of Bairro Cidade Nova, which had received the conventional treatment. The nebulization with the heavy-equipment may constitute a viable and effective strategy for achieving better results in the control of Ae. aegypti.

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