The 2015 to 2017 outbreak of Zika generated global attention on the risk of a spectrum of neurological disorders posed to women and their unborn children-including, but not limited to, microcephaly-that came to be known as congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). Images of women cradling babies born with CZS underscored the gendered nature of the epidemic. Nonetheless, the media attention towards the highly gendered dimensions of the outbreak was not matched by a recognition of the importance of female participation in the decision-making for the control of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector responsible for the spread of Zika. Moreover, while women were the target population of the public health response to the epidemic, the impact of arbovirus policies on women was largely neglected. This paradox-the absence of gender in the policy response to a problem where the gender dimensions were evident from the start-adds to other questions about the sustainability of arbovirus control. The Zika epidemic is but one element of a broader problem with arboviruses-including dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya-which by and large remain neglected across Latin America (and much of the world). Dengue fever, spread by the same A. aegypti mosquito, has shown considerable growth across the continent in recent years [1]. For example, Brazil reported close to 1.5 million cases of the disease between 2014 and 2016 [2]. This is mirrored across Latin America, where there have been almost 700,000 reported cases so far in 2019 alone [3]. Similarly, the region is witnessing the highest rates of other diseases transmitted by A. aegypti. This includes yellow fever-particularly in Brazil [4] [5]-and chikungunya, which was only introduced to the hemisphere in 2013 and is now present in almost every country in the region, causing a significant morbidity burden [6]. Another question pertains to the complex history of arbovirus control in the region, which has demonstrated some notable, if only temporary, successes [7]. Recognition of this history and of the historical ecology of mosquitoes in the region is essential for the effectiveness of present programs, which thus far have repeated the mistakes of the past. Brazil has eliminated A aegypti numerous times [8] [9]. Nonetheless, the preference for vertical programs focusing on the "war" against Aedes has led to short-lived results, with mosquitoes returning within years, due, in a large part, to the absence of a coordinated regional response and the failure to consider and integrate the socioeconomic and structural determinants that enable mosquitoes to thrive. These include substandard living conditions, including those that result from rapid urbanization, increasing population density, poor quality housing, and inadequate sanitary and health facilities, along with lasting public sector deficiencies such as lack of routine water
