The public health importance of the endophilic mosquito Aedes aegypti increased dramatically in the recent decade, because it is the vector of dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever. The use of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) fixed on doors and windows, as insecticide-treated screening (ITS), is one innovative approach recently evaluated for Aedes control in South Mexico. From 2009 to 2014, cluster-randomised controlled trials were conducted in Acapulco and Merida. Intervention clusters received Aedes-proof houses (‘Casas a prueba de Aedes’) with ITS and were followed up during 2 years. Overall, results showed significant and sustained reductions on indoor adult vector densities in the treated clusters with ITS after 2 years: ca. 50% on the presence (OR ≤ 0.62, P < 0.05) and abundance (IRR ≤ 0.58, P < 0.05). ITS on doors and windows are ‘user-friendly’ tool, with high levels of acceptance, requiring little additional work or behavioural change by householders. Factors that favoured these interventions were (a) house construction, (b) high coverage achieved due to the excellent acceptance by the community and (c) collaboration of the vector control services; and only some operational complaints relating to screen fragility and the installation process. ITS is a housing improvement that should be part of the current paradigms for urban vector-borne disease control.
Part of the book: Dengue
We describe and discuss the rationale, design and current implementation of a model for an integrated intervention for the primary and secondary prevention of Zika and other Aedes-borne diseases and sexually transmitted infections that impact reproductive health, pregnancy and perinatal life stages in women and their families in Merida, Mexico. The intervention includes enhanced surveillance of pregnant women, implementation of communication strategies to promote good practices to prevent disease transmission, determination of the frequency of structural anomalies detected prenatally in the foetus, umbilical cord and placenta of pregnancies diagnosed with ZIK infection, detection of ZIKV and other arboviruses/viruses in products of abortion, in-utero and early newborn, provision of Aedes aegypti-proof houses? (protecting homes with door/window screens with insecticide to prevent the access of mosquitoes), mosquito repellents, larvicides and education/promotion of best practices for the prevention of infection with dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV) and Zika (ZIKV) and an anthropological studies on sociocultural factors of pregnant women associated with ZIKV. This intervention is being developed in a population of 10,000 people of the city of Merida and with the participation of a multidisciplinary group of public health professionals in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Government of Yucatan.
Part of the book: Current Topics in Zika
Innovative control tools for the dengue, chikungunya and Zika vector Aedes aegypti, such as genetically modified mosquitoes and biological control and manipulation with the bacteria Wolbachia, are now becoming available and their incorporation into institutional vector control programs is imminent. The objective of this chapter is to examine the technical and organizational mechanisms together with the necessary processes for their introduction and implementation, as well as the indispensable indicators to measure their entomological effect on vector populations and their epidemiological impact in the short, medium and long term as part of an integrated vector management approach.
Part of the book: Dengue Fever
Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika are arboviruses transmitted by Ae. aegypti with significant public health impact. In the first trimester of 2015, autochthonous Zika transmission was reported in Mexico. The state of Yucatan is an endemic region where pregnant women with acute infection and related congenital abnormalities in fetus and newborns were observed. We describe results from a cohort of pregnant women and their babies followed up in Yucatan during the first Zika transmission outbreak (2016–2018). Clinical manifestations of acute ZIKV infection, persistence of viral RNA in pregnant women, as well as congenital abnormalities were observed. In addition, we describe the phenotype of newborns from confirmed or suspected ZIKV prenatal infection.
Part of the book: Current Concepts in Zika Research
Dengue is the most prevalent emerging mosquito-borne viral disease, affecting more than 40% of the human population worldwide. Many symptomatic dengue virus (DENV) infections result in a relatively benign disease course known as dengue fever (DF). However, a small proportion of patients develop severe clinical manifestations, englobed in two main categories known as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Secondary infection with any of the four dengue virus serotypes (DENV1, -2, -3, and -4) is a risk factor to develop severe forms of dengue disease. DSS is primarily characterized by sudden and abrupt endothelial dysfunction, resulting in vascular leak and organ impairment, which may progress to hypovolemic shock and death. Severe DENV disease (DHF/DSS) is thought to follow a complex relationship between distinct immunopathogenic processes involving host and viral factors, such as the serotype cross-reactive antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), the activation of T cells and complement pathways, the phenomenon of the cytokine storm, and the newly described viral toxin activity of the nonstructural protein 1 (NS1), which together play critical roles in inducing vascular leak and virus pathogenesis. In this chapter that is divided in two parts, we will outline the recent advances in our understanding of DENV pathogenesis, highlighting key viral-host interactions and discussing how these interactions may contribute to DENV immunopathology and the development of vascular leak, a hallmark of severe dengue. Part I will address the general features of the DENV complex, including the virus structure and genome, epidemiology, and clinical outcomes, followed by an updated review of the literature describing the host innate immune strategies as well as the viral mechanisms acting against and in favor of the DENV replication cycle and infection.
Part of the book: Dengue Fever in a One Health Perspective