Angelita A. C. Barbosa

Avaliação sobre a adesão às práticas preventivas do dengue: o caso de Catanduva, São Paulo, Brasil

This paper presents the results of a qualitative survey on dengue fever prevention in an outlying neighborhood of Catanduva, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The research aimed to identify factors that interfere with on-going preventive practices by local residents. The authors began with a qualitative approach emphasizing preventive work within local womens daily context, mediated by the relationship they establish with vector control agents. The study indicates that to gain greater collaboration in dengue control requires: personalized consideration by both the programs and vector control agents, yet without excluding technical aspects; review of information content and communications methods: and training vector control agents to establish an on-going communications channel between the program and the population. Such factors can influence the populations interest in the prevention programs and minimize community discredit towards vector control activities.

Physiological state of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti mosquitoes captured with MosquiTRAPs™ in Mirassol, São Paulo, Brazil

ABSTRACT We examined the best location in a house to install MosquiTRAPs, sticky ovitraps that attract and capture Aedes aegypti females and investigated the physiological state of captured female mosquitoes. The study was performed in a twenty-block area in Mirassol, São Paulo State, Brazil, in which five blocks were randomly chosen for MosquiTRAP installation. In each block, four houses were selected for the installation of eight traps: four indoors (bedroom, living room, bathroom, and kitchen) and four outdoors in the shade (two at the front of the house and two in the backyard). These houses were visited over an eight-week period. The outdoor MosquiTRAPs captured five times more females than indoor traps and appeared to be the best places to install MosquiTRAPs. There were no significant differences among indoor sites or among outdoor sites with respect to the number of females captured. The capacity of the MosquiTRAP to capture a large number of gravid Ae. aegypti females reinforces its potential as an entomological surveillance tool in dengue control programs.

Identification of the best ovitrap installation sites for gravid Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti in residences in Mirassol, state of São Paulo, Brazil

This study aimed at identifying the best ovitrap installation sites for gravid Aedes aegypti in Mirassol, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Ovitraps were installed in ten houses per block over ten blocks. Four ovitraps were placed per residence, one in the bedroom, one in the living room, and two outdoors with one in a sheltered area and one in an outside site. Each week for eleven weeks, visits were made to examine the ovitraps and to change the paddles used for egg-laying. Eggs were analyzed according to the trap location. The results showed that the outdoor sites received significantly more oviposition than indoor sites. Additionally, in respect to the outdoor sites, the outside site received significantly more oviposition than the sheltered site. A strong correlation was observed between positive traps and egg numbers. The results are discussed with respect to the best installation site of the traps and their implications in surveillance and control of dengue vectors.

Controle do vetor do dengue e participação da comunidade em Catanduva, São Paulo, Brasil

This study aimed to identify changes in knowledge and practices learned to prevent dengue fever in two areas of Catanduva, São Paulo State, from 1999 to 2001: a study area and a control area. The study included an initial quantitative survey, qualitative research, a preliminary diagnosis presented to the community to launch a discussion aimed at defining future actions, implementation of the actions in the study area with community participation (but without changes in the control area), and a final comparison of the two areas. Changes in the study area included: vector control workers began demonstrating preventive measures without removing potential breeding places or using larvicide; use of educational aids specific to the local reality; activities related to the residents priorities; and activities such as music, theater skits, scavenger hunts, and games to demonstrate the vector cycle. Potential domiciliary breeding sites were significantly reduced; the proportion of houses without breeding sites was significantly increased; and there was an increase in the percentage of individuals who recognized the larval form of the vector in the study area as compared to the control area.

Assessment of entomological indicators of Aedes aegypti (L.) from adult and egg collections in São Paulo, Brazil

ABSTRACT We compared the presence and mean number of eggs from oviposition traps with the mean number of Aedes aegypti females captured by manual aspirators and by MosquiTRAPs™ to determine the sensitivity of each method and to standardize each indicator. The collections of adults and eggs were performed over 23 weeks in six neighborhoods of Mirassol, state of São Paulo, Brazil. A better assessment of indicators required larger number of MosquiTRAPs, but to quantify the number of females per house, one trap was sufficient. The sensitivities of MosquiTRAPs and manual aspirations to detect the presence of A. aegypti females were similar, but were lower compared to oviposition traps. The correlation coefficients between the number of females captured by MosquiTRAPs and manual aspirations and the number of eggs from oviposition traps were low, which may be a consequence of each method showing different stages of the mosquito life cycle.

Atividades de controle do dengue na visão de seus agentes e da população atendida, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brasil

The aim of this article was to identify daily situations experienced by dengue control agents in their relationship to local residents. A cross-sectional study applied questionnaires among vector control agents, community health workers, and a sample of local women. The answers by the dengue control agents and community health workers were grouped in the categories of work, private life, and community. The women were asked about the relationship with the vector control and community health workers. The difficulties cited in the private and work areas by the vector control agents were different from those reported by community health workers. At the community level they coincided and showed that neither group is adequately prepared to deal with these issues. Of the local women interviewed, 87.0% reported that they were well-informed or very well-informed about dengue, 84.0% stated that the work by the vector control agents and community health workers was always helpful, and 54.0% identified inappropriate visiting hours by vector control agents and community health workers as a difficulty. The study identified the need for a new job profile that would recognize and respect the specificities of the areas where their activities are conducted, integrating the communitys socio-environmental issues.

Captura de culicídeos em área urbana: avaliação do método das caixas de repouso

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a ocorrencia de populacao adulta de culicideos em area urbana e medir a sensibilidade do metodo de coleta em caixa de repouso METODOS: Foram coletados mosquitos entre 1999 e 2000, em duas cidades do Estado de Sao Paulo: Ocaucu e Uchoa. Em cada uma delas, sortearam-se 15 quadras, e em cada quadra um domicilio, onde foram instaladas duas caixas de repouso, no intra e no peridomicilio. Realizaram-se coletas mensais por domicilio, durante 13 meses, utilizando aspiradores manuais no intra e peridomicilio e no interior das caixas. Os especimes capturados foram levados ao laboratorio para triagem e identificacao por especie e sexo. RESULTADOS: Dos 2.112 especimes de culicideos coletados, 99,7% corresponderam a quatro especies: Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, Cx. declarator e Cx. coronator. A distribuicao percentual dessas especies foi, respectivamente, em Ocaucu: 83,3%, 3,2%, 10,8% e 2,4%, e em Uchoa: 83,8%, 8,4%, 4,4% e 3,0%. Das femeas do genero Culex, 34,3% foram coletadas nas caixas de repouso e 59,9% encontravam-se no intradomicilio. Das femeas de Ae. aegypti, 17,6% foram coletadas nas caixas de repouso e 82,4% encontraram-se no intradomicilio. CONCLUSOES: A grande maioria dos especimes coletados pertenciam a quatro especies de culicideos, sendo Cx. quinquefasciatus a mais frequente. Proporcionalmente, as femeas de Ae. aegypti ocuparam mais o intradomicilio do que as do genero Culex. A caixa de repouso apresenta potencial de utilizacao como dispositivo de vigilância, mas precisa ser mais bem avaliada.