Aedes ægypti control in urban areas: A systemic approach to a complex dynamic

Abstract

Author summaryThe available strategy for controlling the diseases transmitted by Aedes ægypti (dengue fever, Zika, and chikungunya) relies on continued community participation. Despite slogans emphasizing how easy it should be, no country has achieved it since the seventies. To better investigate potentially sustainable interventions, we developed a systemic model based on a multidisciplinary approach, integrating as deeply as possible specialized knowledge and field experience. The resulting model is composed of 4 external and 8 internal subsystems and 31 relationships, consistent with the literature and checked over multiple iterations with specialists of the many areas. We analyzed the model and the main feedback loops responsible for the system’s stability, searching for possible interventions that could shift the existing balance. We suggest the introduction of 1 more player, the local primary health care structure, with the potential to change the undesired equilibrium. The health agents in the areas are the first to detect disease cases, and they could stimulate individuals to inform about potential mosquitoes’ breeding sites and bring timely information to the vector-control program. Triggering such an action could introduce changes in people's attitude through a positive feedback loop in the desired direction.

Larvicidal and residual activity of imidazolium salts againstAedes aegypti(Diptera: Culicidae)

“…aegypti . In addition, the most effective control strategy for mosquito‐borne diseases is to control the mosquito at either the larval or adult life stages . However, a major factor that complicates control of this mosquito is the emergence of populations resistant to some chemical and/or biological insecticides.…”

Broad dengue neutralization in mosquitoes expressing an engineered antibody

“…Aedes aegypti [16], the main vector of DENV and other epidemiologically significant viruses such as chikungunya (CHIKV), yellow fever (YFV), and Zika (ZIKV), is a domestic endophilic mosquito [17] that has expanded its habitable range in recent decades [18] and will likely continue to spread [19]. Current control measures including the removal of standing water and the use of chemical insecticides have had limited success in reducing Aedes populations [20] and, thereby, incidences of DENV [21], and can instead cause insecticide resistance and behavioral changes such as a shift in biting times [22,23]. Therefore, novel vector control strategies [24], like the use of genetically modified mosquitoes to either suppress mosquito populations or render mosquitoes unable to transmit pathogens [25], are increasingly needed.…”

Projecting the end of the Zika virus epidemic in Latin America: a modelling analysis

“…The impact of vector control has been largely unassessed, or where it has been assessed it has been found to be ineffective. 48,49 Consequently, our findings are likely to be unaffected by the impact of vector Additionally, we do not include the impact of inter-annual variation in Aedes aegypti vector capacity, such as the 2015-2016 El Nino climate phenomenon, which has previously been shown to be positively associated with an increased incidence in 2016. 18 Instead, we show that the peak incidence in 2016 was likely due to a low incidence of infection in 2015, that then resulted in optimal transmission in 2016, resulting in depletion of the susceptible population, thus limiting incidence in 2017 and 2018.…”