INNOVATIVE VECTOR CONTROL NOW OPERATIONAL IN VIENTIANE

in Lao PDR July 17, 2018 596 0 2

10 July 2018

The country’s economic development leads to a frantic development of peri-urban areas around Vientiane. These transition zones where urban density is juxtaposed with rural activities are subject to rapid changes in ecosystems caused by human activity. It has already been demonstrated in other countries of the region that the expansion of suburban areas, lack of sewage system and land degradation are causes of proliferation of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, mosquito vectors of Dengue virus, Chikungunya and Zika and a combined high density of human hosts increases the risk of dengue transmission.

So the objective of the project in Lao PDR is to assess if an innovative program for vector control can reduce the risk of dengue, Chikungunya and Zika in urban and peri-urban areas

In2care system is now installed in Vientiane City. 2 villages, Sengsavang and Sapanthong have been selected to be intervention areas when Sivilay and Donekoy will serve as control areas.

These villages have all been selected because they have been hot spots of dengue confirmed cases (through statistical analysis) for the 5 last years.

In total, 300 In2care traps have been installed and geo-localized in each village; the objective is that Aedes density can decrease dramatically in the intervention zone vs. non-intervention zone due to the innovative technique of auto-dissemination (see video).

Villagers, village authorities and staff of Vientiane Municipality will help the IPL team to maintain the system, particularly to renew the gauze impregnated by Pyriproxyfen.

Trapping of adults is conducted weekly by 2 BGS traps and 2 ovitraps in front of village authorities’ offices in the 4 villages and Municipality staff will determine the Breteau Index (number of positive breeding sites / 100 houses) and the house Index (% of Houses with traps containing larvae or pupae).