Abstract
BackgroundIn 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.MethodsA 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.ResultsOverall, 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.ConclusionsEffective 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.Graphical
Highlights
In 2015, an outbreak of Zika virus spread across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
This resurgence is in large part due to rapid, unmanaged urbanization in tropical cities, human migration, globalization, environmental changes, erratic water supplies leading to water shortages and insecurity, growing insecticide resistance, and ineffective or unsustainable vector control [6,7,8]
Our findings suggest that use of an effective lid on long-term water storage containers is associated with reduced odds of mosquito larval presence, even after adjusting for cleaning water containers
Summary
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. Ae. aegypti mosquitoes are historically a challenge for vector control programs; despite concerted elimination efforts since the 1950s, a resurgence of the arboviral diseases they transmit has been reported in recent years [4, 5] This resurgence is in large part due to rapid, unmanaged urbanization in tropical cities, human migration, globalization, environmental changes, erratic water supplies leading to water shortages and insecurity, growing insecticide resistance, and ineffective or unsustainable vector control [6,7,8]. If source reduction is to be effective, a multidisciplinary response is needed, addressing water access, urban planning, and behavior change strategies at the household and community levels
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