ColDengue: A novel surveillance and control tool for Aedes aegypti

Abstract

In view of the high epidemiological and economic impact of urban arboviruses associated with A. aegyptii (A-ae) in tropical countries, WHO within the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, highlights the need for new alternatives to control and eliminate those diseases. In response to this call, we proposed the ColDengue as a new tool of surveillance and vector control for A-ae. It is a tool operated manually and by sweeping in breeding sites. This tool was calibrated in laboratory showing effectiveness rate between 41.0 - 62.9% for larvae removal and 62.9 - 91.3% for pupae. Later ColDengue was applied in houses of Villavicencio, a hyperendemic city for dengue in Colombia. During six and eight interventions in two different neighborhoods, trials with intervals of 7 to 10 days; 10,522 larvae and 1,950 pupae of A-ae were eliminated. ColDengue in addition to responding to the traditional aedic index too allows determining the productivity of the breeding sites and the spatial-temporal dynamics for the pest mosquito. The tool presented acceptability and community adhesion above 90.0%, is fiscally sustainable (<3 USD unit), has a useful life until 6 months (with weekly use); is eco-friendly, can be used by all members of the community and is a resilient climate change strategy. Therefore, we suggest that ColDengue can be incorporated as a regular action of the health surveillance and vector control programs for urban arboviruses in Colombia and other countries of the world where domestic artificial water containers are productive for A. aegypti.