With the increase in the number of Aedes aegypti epidemics, Curitiba is adopting a new strategy to intensify actions to control the mosquito, which transmits serious diseases such as dengue, zyka and chikungunya. Starting this Thursday (17), endemic disease control officers from the Municipal Aedes Control Program will begin installing ovitraps in all regional offices across the city.
These are traps constructed with a black flowerpot, filled with water – an attractant for the mosquito -, which is positioned in one place and simulates the perfect environment for the reproduction of the insect. Inside the container there is a wooden straw which makes it easier for the female to lay her eggs.
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Once a month, endemic agents will set up 300 traps like these, spread across all neighborhoods. Four days later, the teams return to the scene to recover the traps.
After collection, the eggs will be sent for laboratory analysis to verify whether they are Aedes aegypti or another species of mosquito. The counting of eggs found will also be carried out, in order to be able to estimate the mosquito population within a radius of nine blocks. The following month, the process will be repeated on new addresses.
The analysis will be carried out in partnership with the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), which will lend the entomology laboratory so that SMS biologists can evaluate the material.
In late February, SMS endemic agents discovered 218 mosquito outbreaks in the city, nearly three times the number of last year, when 80 outbreaks were detected.
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Research is essential to monitor mosquito behavior in real time and make vector control more effective. The strategy will last 12 months.
The use of ovitraps is added to the actions already carried out in the city for the control of mosquitoes, such as cleaning efforts, surveillance of strategic points and the installation of larvitrap traps, education and blocking actions and routine inspections.
Curitiba without Mosquito
Since 2017, a joint action between the municipal Health and Environment departments has collected 4,162 tons of garbage and rubble in the ten regions thanks to the Curitiba sem Mosquito program. This year, four cleaning operations have already been carried out.
seasonality
In rainy periods and with higher temperatures, the work must be intensified, since these are the conditions that favor the reproduction of the mosquito. Although the care must be constant, the coordinator of the municipal program of control of Aedes, Tatiana Faraco, underlines the importance of reinforcing the care in these stations.
“Monitoring must be thorough and periodic, at least once a week. Any object that can accumulate water, whether large, such as construction debris, or small, such as bottle caps, should not be left out in the open, they should be stored in dry and face down,” Tatiana guides.
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According to her, 60% of the positive outbreaks identified in Curitiba were found in homes, which demonstrates the need for the population to do its part.
“As much as the town hall does the work, the population must collaborate and maintain the inspection routine in their spaces. You can’t be everywhere every day, and the mosquito proliferates very quickly, on average in a week,” he explains.
Another reason for alert is the profile of the cycle of these diseases, Tatiana explains that arboviruses such as dengue, zyka and chikungunya are diseases that circulate more intensely in hot weather.
“In 2015, the city saw a large increase in cases, including the registration of indigenous cases. With all the actions taken, we managed to control the disease. Our concern and our work is to prevent the scenario from happening again, but the population must do their part,” says Tatiana.
1 – Cover well: boxes, barrels and barrels of water.
2 – Put the garbage cans in plastic bags and always keep the garbage cans tightly closed.
3 – Do not throw garbage in vacant lots.
4 – If you store glass or plastic bottles, always keep the mouth down.
5 – Do not let rainwater accumulate on the slab.
6 – Fill the cups or flowerpots with sand up to the edge.
7 – If you store old tires, remove all the water and keep them in covered places, sheltered from the rain.
8 – Frequently clean the gutters, avoiding that branches and leaves prevent the passage of water.
9 – Frequently wash the containers used to store water with soap and water, at least once a week.
10 – Aquatic plant pots should be washed with soap and water weekly. It is important to change the water in these vases frequently.
