The Mosquito-borne Diseases area produces reports about the situation of dengue in the countries of the American continent based on data recorded by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The report delivered during the week starting on October 19 2019 states that, according to the dengue cases reported by countries in the Americas, the epidemiological situation in 2019 is one of the most alarming of the last 10 years.
The permanent monitoring actions conducted by the Foundation in localities from the northern region of Argentina revealed that conditions are most suitable for mosquito reproduction; for this reason, Mundo Sano recommends starting the planning of actions for prevention and reduction of the environmental burden due to potential breeding sites, and reinforcing the cleaning and control activities of front and back yards, where there are usually containers with mosquito eggs that become breeding sites when the season begins.
Mundo Sano and its work about mosquito-borne diseases: Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, and Yellow Fever.
In Argentina, the Foundation conducts a program for the surveillance and monitoring of Aedes aegypti, which aims at monitoring the mosquito infestation levels through larva sampling, abundance of breeding sites, and control of egg laying of this species, given the epidemiological risk that its presence poses to an area affected by outbreaks of Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya. These works have been conducted in Pampa del Indio (since 2010), Puerto Iguazú (since 2003) and Clorinda (since 2004).
In the city of Tartagal, the program also includes actions for the control of breeding sites and covering of foci, and has been conducted with the cooperation of the Municipality of Tartagal, the Juan Domingo Perón Hospital, and Pan American Energy, since 2009. The work conducted during these years has allowed us to generate evidence on the local epidemiology of arbovirosis transmitted by Aedes aegypti.
Due to the implementation of actions to reduce the potential breeding sites –through environmental management and removal of breeding sites (source reduction)– the application of chemical larvicides has been restricted to specific situation of high infestation; thus, the use of insecticides for the control of breeding sites has been reduced by more than 80%.
Ovitrap network: cooperation project with municipalities
This project started in 2017 with the aim of providing municipal governments with an Aedes aegypti surveillance tool that allows them to take actions for the prevention and control of this vector. To meet this objective, Mundo Sano trains local agents in deploying ovitrap networks, replicating the standardized protocols used in the offices of the Foundation.
To date, the project has a network of 12 municipalities that carry out weekly monitoring of Aedes aegypti egg laying activity.
Awareness raising campaign in schools
In Clorinda, Tartagal, and Puerto Iguazú, every year Mundo Sano visits public and private primary schools and gives talks for raising awareness about this disease.
By means of recreational activities, children are trained about the characteristics and development stages of the dengue-transmitting mosquito, the larval habitat (natural and artificial breeding sites), transmission mode, disease symptoms, and prevention methods.
La implementación de acciones de reducción de potenciales criaderos – a través del manejo ambiental y eliminación de sitios de cría (descacharrados) – la aplicación de larvicidas químicos se ha restringido a situaciones específicas de alta infestación, permitiendo reducir en más del 80% el uso de insecticidas para el control de criaderos.