Use of effective lids reduces presence of mosquito larvae in household water storage containers in urban and peri-urban Zika risk areas of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador

Abstract

Background In 2015, an outbreak of Zika virus spread across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Public health programs promoted vector control behaviors, including covering water storage containers with lids. Such approaches disrupt Zika transmission by eliminating the habitats of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which breeds in stagnant water. Methods A quantitative household survey and observation checklist with trained enumerators were undertaken between August and October 2018 in selected urban/peri-urban USAID implementation communities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The survey included questions regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to Zika virus. An accompanying checklist was implemented to observe water storage containers, including for short-term and long-term water use. The characteristics of these containers were tabulated, including the presence of a lid. The lids were examined for key features to determine their potential effectiveness to prevent mosquito breeding: fully covering and sealing the container, not having holes, and not having water on them (potentially creating a secondary breeding site). Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the effectiveness of lid types and characteristics on the presence of larvae. Results Overall, in adjusted models, using an effective lid versus no lid was associated with a 94% decrease in odds of larval presence in long-term water storage containers (odds ratio = 0.06; 95% confidence interval [0.029, 0.152]); however, similar impacts were not observed for washbasins in the adjusted models. Models adjusted for household wealth, receiving a visit from a vector control technician, scrubbing the container in the last 7 days, and perception of more mosquitoes around. Conclusions Effective lids, if made available and coupled with complementary behavioral messaging, may reduce transmission of Zika and other Aedes mosquito-borne diseases in the LAC region.

Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) and risk factors on dengue fever among children in Brazil, Fortaleza: A cross-sectional study

“…22,44,45 Open containers and unsealed reservoirs can act as important breeding sites for Aedes mosquitos, 12,22,45 while piped water and sealed reservoirs can reduce the presence of Aedes mosquitos significantly. 12,22 An interesting finding from our study is that children living in households with high KAP levels had a higher relative risk of dengue seropositivity. One hypothesis for this finding is related to our outcome measure and an important limitation of cross-sectional data -a lack of temporality.…”

“…22,44,45 Open containers and unsealed reservoirs can act as important breeding sites for Aedes mosquitos, 12,22,45 while piped water and sealed reservoirs can reduce the presence of Aedes mosquitos significantly. 12,22…”

“…20 We distinguished between households with no potable water storage and sealed individual water tanks from households with open water storage methods (e.g., buckets, pots). 22 Households were considered to have dengue history if they experienced a recent dengue episode or the death of a family member due to dengue. Household education level of the adult respondent was categorized based upon completion of elementary school as elementary school is essential for an individual's literacy.…”

ZIKV-Related Ideations and Modern Contraceptive Use: Cross-Sectional Evidence from the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala

“…A two-stage sampling approach was used. 35 During the first stage, clusters were selected based on a probability proportional to populational size approach; larger clusters had higher probabilities of selection. During the second stage, a fixed target sample of households were selected in each cluster; thus, households in smaller clusters had a higher probability of selection.…”

Advanced Early Dengue Prediction and Exploration Service (AEDES)

“…Data on dengue takes time to be manually gathered which hampers the health sector's ability to deal with the threat. Dengue is spread between infected cases through the Aedes Aegypti mosquito (Chan & Johansson, 2012) and mosquitoes are known to breed in damp locations and stagnant water pools (Pinchoff, Silva, Spielman, & Hutchinson, 2021).…”