Abdiel Martin-Park

By Pablo Manrique-Saide, Azael Che-Mendoza, Josué Herrera- Bojórquez, Josué Villegas Chim, Guillermo Guillermo-May, Anuar Medina-Barreiro, Felipe Dzul-Manzanilla, Abdiel Martín-Park, Gabriela González-Olvera, Hugo Delfín-Gonzalez, Juan I. Arredondo-Jiménez, Adriana E. Flores-Suarez, Norma Pavía-Ruz, Catrin Huws Jones, Audrey Lenhart and Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec

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

By Norma Pavía-Ruz, Silvina Contreras-Capetillo, Nina Valadéz- González, Josué Villegas-Chim, Rafael Carcaño-Castillo, Guillermo Valencia-Pacheco, Ligia Vera-Gamboa, Fabián Correa-Morales, Josué Herrera-Bojórquez, Hugo Delfín-González, Abdiel Martín- Park, Guadalupe García Escalante, Gonzalo Vázquez-Prokopec, Héctor Gómez-Dantés and Pablo Manrique-Saide

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

By Héctor Gómez-Dantés, Norma Pavía-Ruz, Fabián Correa-Morales, Abdiel Martín-Park, Gonzalo Vázquez-Prokopec and Pablo Manrique-Saide

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

By Yamili J. Contreras-Perera, Abdiel Martin-Park, Henry Puerta-Guardo, Azael Che-Mendoza, Silvia Pérez-Carrillo, Irám Pablo Rodríguez-Sánchez, Pablo Manrique-Saide and Adriana Flores-Suarez

Mosquito’s resistance to avoiding insecticide-treated surfaces (“excito-repellency”) has two effects: irritation from direct contact with a treated area and repellency as an avoidance response to contact with treated surfaces. Nowadays, this behavior appears to reduce the success of mosquito control programs, particularly those based on insecticide-driven strategies. Different systems have been designed to assess the excito-repellency, evaluating numerous insecticides’ irritants, deterrents, and toxic properties at different concentrations. The information provides valuable insights regarding the patterns of mosquito behavior based on their physiological conditions, such as the age of the mosquitoes and the duration of the tests. However, the physiological processes resulting from chemical stimulus contact “chemoreception”) are still poorly explored and understood. This review provides an overview of insecticide effects on mosquito behavior and describes the mechanisms involved in chemical stimuli uptake, translation, and recognition.

Part of the book: Mosquito Research

By Josué Villegas-Chim, Abdiel Martin-Park, Henry Puerta-Guardo, María Eugenia Toledo-Romaní, Norma Pavía-Ruz, Yamili Contreras-Perera, Silvia Pérez-Carrillo, Azael Che-Mendoza, Jorge Palacio-Vargas, Fabián Correa-Morales, Héctor Gómez-Dantés and Pablo Manrique-Saide

The Wolbachia-based approach is under evaluation as a control strategy against Aedes aegypti in Mexico. From 2017 to 2019, we performed a pilot study to evaluate an open-field mass-release of wAlbB-infected Ae. aegypti male mosquitoes, as part of an integrated vector management (IVM) plan led by the Ministry of Health in Mexico to suppress natural populations of Ae. aegypti in southern Mexico. Community engagement and social evaluation were part of the key activities conducted. Overall, results showed the positive benefits of this Wolbachia-based method in the reduction of Aedes mosquitoes (90%). Mosquito’s nuisance at bedtime and the increasing circulation of mosquitoes during the releasing days were reported as the negative perceptions of this method. Importantly, participants understood the difference between wild mosquitoes and those released as part of the project, as well as the importance of the IVM. A significant number of the population accepted and supported the project, and feedback was given to improve future mosquito-releasing activities. The social license was a key factor in the success of the intervention and should be part of innovative paradigms for mosquito-vector control strategies involving community engagement. We outline the Mexican experience of community engagement and social assessment in implementing a Wolbachia-based strategy.

Part of the book: Mosquito Research