RESUMO
A recent innovation instrumented for the Dengue Prevention and Control program in Mexico is the use of the premises condition index (PCI) as an indicator of risk for the vector Aedes aegypti infestation in dengue-endemic localities of Mexico. This paper addresses whether further improvements for the dengue control program could be made if the prevalence and productivity of Ae. aegypti populations could be reliably predicted using PCI at the household level, as well as medium-sized neighborhoods. We evaluated the use of PCI to predict the infestation with Aedes aegypti (breeding sites and immature productivity) in Merida, Mexico. The study consisted of a cross-sectional survey based on a cluster-randomized sampling design. We analyzed the statistical association between Aedes infestation and PCI, the extent to which the 3 components of PCI (house maintenance, and tidiness and shading of the patio) contributed to the association between PCI and infestation and whether infestation in a given premises was also affected by the PCI of the surrounding ones. Premises with the lowest PCI had significantly lower Aedes infestation and productivity; and as PCI scores increased infestation levels also tended to increase. Household PCI was significantly associated with Ae. aegypti breeding, largely due to the effect of patio untidiness and patio shade. The mean PCI within the surroundings premises also had a significant and independent explanatory power to predict the risk for infestation, in addition to individual PCI. This is the 1st study in Mexico showing evidence that premises condition as measured by the PCI is related to Ae. aegypti breeding sites and immature productivity. Results suggest that PCI could be used to streamline surveys to inform control efforts at least where Ae. aegypti breeds outdoors, as in Merida. The effect of individual premises, neighborhood condition, and the risk of Aedes infestation imply that the risk for dengue vector infestation can only be minimized by the mass effect at the community level.
Assuntos
Aedes , Habitação/estatística & dados numéricos , Insetos Vetores , Animais , Cruzamento , Dengue/transmissão , México , Controle de MosquitosRESUMO
Introducción. En muchas de las zonas urbanas de México persisten temores infundados hacia los alacranes. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo el conocer la fauna de alacranes sinantrópicos de Mérida, Yucatán, México y describir de manera preliminar la fauna de alacranes sinantrópicos de Mérida Yucatán, México y describir de manera preliminar a la fenología e importancia médica de las especies encontradas. Material y Métodos. Los ejemplares recolectados fueron obtenidos de donaciones y recolectas durante los años 1992-1998. El material entomológico recolectado fue determinado y depositado en la colección Entomológica Regional de la Facultad de Médicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autonóma de Yucatán. Resultados y conclusión. Se obtuvieron 107 ejemplares de alacranes adultos pertenecientes a dos familias y cuatro especies: Centruroides gracilis, C. ochraceus (Buthidae) y Diplocentrus sp1 t sp2 (Diplocentridae), ninguna de las cuales pertenece a las especies altamente tóxicas. Se observó un periodo de mayor abundancia relativa de las especies de marzo a julio