Abstract
BackgroundThe global impact of Zika virus in Latin America has drawn renewed attention to circulating mosquito-borne viruses in this region, such as dengue and chikungunya. Our objective was to assess socio-ecological factors associated with Aedes mosquito vector density as a measure of arbovirus transmission risk in three cities of potentially recent Zika virus introduction: Ibagué, Colombia; Manta, Ecuador; and Posadas, Argentina, in order to inform disease mitigation strategies.MethodsWe sampled Aedes mosquito populations in a total of 1086 households, using indoor and peridomestic mosquito collection methods, including light traps, resting traps, traps equipped with chemical attractant and aspirators. For each sampled household, we collected socio-economic data using structured questionnaires and data on microenvironmental conditions using iButton data loggers.ResultsA total of 3230 female Aedes mosquitoes were collected, of which 99.8% were Aedes aegypti and 0.2% were Aedes albopictus. Mean female Aedes mosquito density per household was 1.71 (standard deviation: 2.84). We used mixed-effects generalized linear Poisson regression analyses to identify predictors of Aedes density, using month, neighborhood and country as random-effects variables. Across study sites, the number of household occupants [incidence rate ratio (IRR): 1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01–1.14], presence of entry points for mosquitoes into the household (IRR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.30–1.76) and presence of decorative vegetation (IRR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.22–1.88) were associated with higher Aedes density; while being in the highest wealth tertile of household wealth (IRR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.66–0.92), knowledge of how arboviruses are transmitted (IRR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.89–1.00) and regular emptying of water containers by occupants (IRR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.67–0.92) were associated with lower Aedes density.ConclusionsOur study addresses the complexities of arbovirus vectors of global significance at the interface between human and mosquito populations. Our results point to several predictors of Aedes mosquito vector density in countries with co-circulation of multiple Aedes-borne viruses, and point to modifiable risk factors that may be useful for disease prevention and control.Graphical
Highlights
The global impact of Zika virus in Latin America has drawn renewed attention to circulating mosquitoborne viruses in this region, such as dengue and chikungunya
Talbot et al Parasites Vectors (2021) 14:482 in countries with co-circulation of multiple Aedes-borne viruses, and point to modifiable risk factors that may be useful for disease prevention and control
We defined two classes of neighborhood socio-economic status (SES), namely high and low, based on government classification or available information, including population density, household crowding, household wealth and services available. Given these measures vary between study site and are specific to the metrics that were applied in the respective countries, we mainly used these approximations as a way to ensure we selected neighborhoods displaying a representative level of socio-economic variation
Summary
The global impact of Zika virus in Latin America has drawn renewed attention to circulating mosquitoborne viruses in this region, such as dengue and chikungunya. Among globally emerging and re-emerging arboviruses causing human disease in recent years, Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses have been of increasing regional importance in the Americas. Zika virus was historically confined to Africa and Asia [3]. Chikungunya virus is associated with long-lasting arthralgia, rash and fever, and has caused outbreaks of disease in countries in Africa, Asia and Europe [7]. In 2013, this virus emerged in the Americas in Saint-Martin, and rapidly spread throughout the Latin America and Caribbean region within a year [7]
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