The TIRS trial: Enrollment procedures and baseline characterization of a pediatric cohort to quantify the epidemiologic impact of targeted indoor residual spraying on Aedes-borne viruses in Merida, Mexico.

Aedes mosquito-borne viruses (ABVs) place a substantial strain on public health resources in the Americas. Vector control of Aedes mosquitoes is an important public health strategy to decrease or prevent spread of ABVs. The ongoing Targeted Indoor Residual Spraying (TIRS) trial is an NIH-sponsored clinical trial to study the efficacy of a novel, proactive vector control technique to prevent dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infections in the endemic city of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. The primary outcome of the trial is laboratory-confirmed ABV infections in neighborhood clusters. Despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, by early 2021 the TIRS trial completed enrollment of 4,792 children aged 2-15 years in 50 neighborhood clusters which were allocated to control or intervention arms via a covariate-constrained randomization algorithm. Here, we describe the makeup and ABV seroprevalence of participants and mosquito population characteristics in both arms before TIRS administration. Baseline surveys showed similar distribution of age, sex, and socio-economic factors between the arms. Serum samples from 1,399 children were tested by commercially available ELISAs for presence of anti-ABV antibodies. We found that 45.1% of children were seropositive for one or more flaviviruses and 24.0% were seropositive for CHIKV. Of the flavivirus-positive participants, most were positive for ZIKV-neutralizing antibodies by focus reduction neutralization testing which indicated a higher proportion of participants with previous ZIKV than DENV infections within the cohort. Both study arms had statistically similar seroprevalence for all viruses tested, similar socio-demographic compositions, similar levels of Ae. aegypti infestation, and similar observed mosquito susceptibility to insecticides. These findings describe a population with a high rate of previous exposure to ZIKV and lower titers of neutralizing antibodies against DENV serotypes, suggesting susceptibility to future outbreaks of flaviviruses is possible, but proactive vector control may mitigate these risks.

NEW RECORDS OF CULICOIDES (HAEMATOMYIDIUM) PARAENSIS AND A KEY TO ADULT CULICOIDES FROM YUCATAN PENINSULA, MEXICO.

We provide new records of Culicoides paraensis from the Yucatan Peninsula. The anthropophilic biting midge C. paraensis is the main vector of Oropouche fever virus in South and Central America. We also report Culicoides poikilonotus for the 1st time in the Yucatan Peninsula and a key to identify the species in this region of Mexico.

Prevalence of Flavivirus and A lphavirus in bats captured in the state of Yucatan, southeastern Mexico.

Flavivirus (family Flaviviridae) and Alphavirus (family Togaviridae) are mosquito-borne viruses that poses a significant risk to public health worldwide. Examples of these viruses include Dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Flavivirus genus, and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in the Alphavirus genus. The potential contribution of bats in the mosquito-to-human transmission cycle of these viral genera in the tropics has not been studied. Here, a total of 144 bats belonging to three families (Emballonuridae, Phyllostomidae, and Molossidae) and six species were captured for one year using mist nets in sites with different landscapes (forest and grassland) in the state of Yucatan, southeastern Mexico. Blood samples and rectal and oral swabs were collected to detect Flavivirus and Alphavirus RNA genomes through RT-PCR. Flavivirus RNA was detected in 53 individuals (36.8%; 95% CI: 29.4%-44.9%), and Alphavirus RNA was detected in 59 individuals (40.1%; 95% CI: 33.2%-49.2%). The sequences obtained were consistent with ZIKV and DENV, into the Flavivirus, and CHIKV into the Alphavirus positive samples. The prevalence of both Flavivirus and Alphavirus was higher during the dry season compared with the rainy season. This high positivity rate, highlighted in both Flavivirus and Alphavirus, suggests a potential contribution of bats in the circulation of these viral genera in sylvatic environments. Seasonal variation in viral genera prevalence, with higher prevalence during dry seasons than rainy seasons, may suggest specific viral activity patterns in response to climatic conditions.

Unraveling the Influence of Satellite-Observed Land Surface Temperature on High-Resolution Mapping of Ground-Level Ozone Using Interpretable Machine Learning.

Accurately mapping ground-level ozone concentrations at high spatiotemporal resolution (daily, 1 km) is essential for evaluating human exposure and conducting public health assessments. This requires identifying and understanding a proxy that is well-correlated with ground-level ozone variation and available with spatiotemporal high-resolution data. This study introduces a high-resolution ozone modeling method utilizing the XGBoost algorithm with satellite-derived land surface temperature (LST) as the primary predictor. Focusing on China in 2019, our model achieved a cross-validation R2 of 0.91 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 13.51 µg/m3. We provide detailed maps highlighting ground-level ozone concentrations in urban areas, uncovering spatial variations previously unresolved, along with time series aligning with established understandings of ozone dynamics. Our local interpretation of the machine learning model underscores the significant contribution of LST to spatiotemporal ozone variations, surpassing other meteorological, pollutant, and geographical predictors in its influence. Validation results indicate that model performance decreases as spatial resolution becomes coarser, with R2 decreasing from 0.91 for the 1 km model to 0.85 for the 25 km model. The methodology and data sets generated by this study offer new insights into ground-level ozone variability and mapping and can significantly aid in exposure assessment and epidemiological research related to this critical environmental challenge.

A review of selective indoor residual spraying for malaria control.

BACKGROUND: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is one of the most effective malaria control tools. However, its application has become limited to specific contexts due to the increased costs of IRS products and implementation programmes. Selective spraying-selective spray targeted to particular areas/surfaces of dwellings-has been proposed to maintain the malaria control and resistance-management benefits of IRS while decreasing the costs of the intervention. METHODS: A literature search was conducted to find (1) studies that assessed the resting behaviour of Anopheles mosquitoes and (2) studies that evaluated the impact of selective spraying on entomological and malaria outcomes. Additional articles were identified through hand searches of all references cited in articles identified through the initial search. A cost model was developed from PMI VectorLink IRS country programmes, and comparative cost analysis reports to describe the overall cost benefits of selective IRS. RESULTS: In some studies, there appeared to be a clear resting preference for certain Anopheles species in terms of the height at which they rested. However, for other species, and particularly the major African malaria vectors, a clear resting pattern was not detected. Furthermore, resting behaviour was not measured in a standardized way. For the selective spray studies that were assessed, there was a wide range of spray configurations, which complicates the comparison of methods. Many of these spray techniques were effective and resulted in reported 25-68% cost savings and reduced use of insecticide. The reported cost savings in the literature do not always consider all of the IRS implementation costs. Using the IRS cost model, these savings ranged from 17 to 29% for programs that targeted Anopheles spp. and 18-41% for programmes that targeted Aedes aegypti. CONCLUSIONS: Resting behaviour is generally measured in a simplistic way; noting the resting spot of mosquitoes in the morning. This is likely an oversimplification, and there is a need for better monitoring of resting mosquitoes. This may improve the target surface for selective spray techniques, which could reduce the cost of IRS while maintaining its effectiveness. Reporting of cost savings should be calculated considering the entire implementation costs, and a cost model was provided for future calculations.

Wolbachia pipientis (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) mediated effects on the fitness and performance of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) under variable temperatures and initial larval densities.

Wolbachia pipientis (Hertig, 1936), also referred as Wolbachia, is a bacterium present across insect taxa, certain strains of which have been demonstrated to impact the fitness and capacity to transmit viruses in mosquitoes, particularly Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762). Most studies examine these impacts in limited sets of environmental regimes. Here we seek to understand the impacts of environmentally relevant conditions such as larval density, temperature, and their interaction on wAlbB-infected A. aegypti. Using a factorial design, we measured wAlbB stability (relative density, post-emergence in females, and in progeny), the ability for wAlbB to induce cytoplasmic incompatibility, and bacterial effects on mosquito fitness (fecundity, fertility, and body mass) and performance (adult survival and time to pupation) across 2 temperature regimes (fluctuating and constant) and 2 initial larval densities (low and high). Fluctuating daily regimes of temperature (27 to 40 °C) led to decreased post-emergence wAlbB density and increased wAlbB density in eggs compared to constant temperature (27 °C). An increased fecundity was found in wAlbB-carrying females reared at fluctuating temperatures compared to uninfected wild-type females. wAlbB-carrying adult females showed significantly increased survival than wild-type females. Contrarily, wAlbB-carrying adult males exhibited a significantly lower survival than wild-type males. We found differential effects of assessed treatments (Wolbachia infection status, temperature, and larval density) across mosquito sexes and life stages. Taken together, our results indicate that realistic conditions may not impact dramatically the stability of wAlbB infection in A. aegypti. Nonetheless, understanding the ecological consequence of A. aegypti-wAlbB interaction is complex due to life history tradeoffs under conditions faced by natural populations.

Human movement and environmental barriers shape the emergence of dengue.

Understanding how emerging infectious diseases spread within and between countries is essential to contain future pandemics. Spread to new areas requires connectivity between one or more sources and a suitable local environment, but how these two factors interact at different stages of disease emergence remains largely unknown. Further, no analytical framework exists to examine their roles. Here we develop a dynamic modelling approach for infectious diseases that explicitly models both connectivity via human movement and environmental suitability interactions. We apply it to better understand recently observed (1995-2019) patterns as well as predict past unobserved (1983-2000) and future (2020-2039) spread of dengue in Mexico and Brazil. We find that these models can accurately reconstruct long-term spread pathways, determine historical origins, and identify specific routes of invasion. We find early dengue invasion is more heavily influenced by environmental factors, resulting in patchy non-contiguous spread, while short and long-distance connectivity becomes more important in later stages. Our results have immediate practical applications for forecasting and containing the spread of dengue and emergence of new serotypes. Given current and future trends in human mobility, climate, and zoonotic spillover, understanding the interplay between connectivity and environmental suitability will be increasingly necessary to contain emerging and re-emerging pathogens.

Insecticide susceptibility status of Anopheles albimanus populations in historical malaria foci in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Mexico has experienced a significant reduction in malaria cases over the past two decades. Certification of localities as malaria-free areas (MFAs) has been proposed as a steppingstone before elimination is achieved throughout the country. The Mexican state of Quintana Roo is a candidate for MFA certification. Monitoring the status of insecticide susceptibility of major vectors is crucial for MFA certification. This study describes the susceptibility status of Anopheles albimanus, main malaria vector, from historically important malaria foci in Quintana Roo, using both phenotypic and genotypic approaches. METHODS: Adult mosquito collections were carried out at three localities: Palmar (Municipality of Othon P. Blanco), Buenavista (Bacalar) and Puerto Morelos (Puerto Morelos). Outdoor human-landing catches were performed by pairs of trained staff from 18:00 to 22:00 during 3-night periods at each locality during the rainy season of 2022. Wild-caught female mosquitoes were exposed to diagnostic doses of deltamethrin, permethrin, malathion, pirimiphos-methyl or bendiocarb using CDC bottle bioassays. Mortality was registered at the diagnostic time and recovery was assessed 24 h after exposure. Molecular analyses targeting the Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel (vgsc) gene and acetylcholinesterase (ace-1) gene were used to screen for target site polymorphisms. An SNP analysis was carried out to identify mutations at position 995 in the vgsc gene and at position 280 in the ace-1 gene. RESULTS: A total of 2828 anophelines were collected. The main species identified were Anopheles albimanus (82%) and Anopheles vestitipennis (16%). Mortalities in the CDC bottle bioassay ranged from 99% to 100% for all the insecticides and mosquito species. Sequence analysis was performed on 35 An. albimanus across the three localities; of those, 25 were analysed for vgsc and 10 for ace-1 mutations. All individuals showed wild type alleles. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that An. albimanus populations from historical malaria foci in Quintana Roo are susceptible to the main insecticides used by the Ministry of Health.

Seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi among children from Veracruz, Mexico: Epidemiological baseline for a control model based on Chagas disease active transmission / Seroprevalencia de Trypanosoma cruzi en niños de Veracruz, México: línea epidemiológica de base para un modelo de control fundamentado de la transmisión activa de la enfermedad de Chagas.

Introduction. In 2021, the Secretaría de Salud de México and the Pan American Health Organization launched an initiative to interrupt intra-domiciliary vector transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi based on the prevalence of Chagas disease in children. The Mexican State of Veracruz was leading this initiative. Objective. To estimate the seroprevalence of T. cruzi infection among children under 15 years of age from rural areas of Veracruz, México. Materials and methods. We identified eight localities of high priority from the Municipality of Tempoal, Veracruz, for baseline serology. Blood samples were collected on filter paper from 817 individuals between June and August 2017, for screening with a third-generation enzyme immunoassay. Reactive cases were confirmed by indirect hemagglutination, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and indirect immunofluorescence tests on peripheral blood serum samples. We calculated seroprevalence and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results. We confirmed Chagas disease cases in children under 15 years of age with a seroprevalence of 1,9% (95 % CI = 1,12-3,16) in the localities of Citlaltepetl, Cornizuelo, Cruz de Palma and Rancho Nuevo. Conclusions. These results indicate recent transmission of T. cruzi in these communities and allow to establish an epidemiological baseline for the design and implementation of a model focused on geographical areas with active transmission to advance toward the elimination of intra-domiciliary vector transmission of this parasite in Mexico.

Introducción. En el 2021, la Secretaría de Salud de México y la Organización Panamericana de la Salud lanzaron una iniciativa para interrumpir la transmisión vectorial intradomiciliaria de Trypanosoma cruzi, fundamentada en la prevalencia de la enfermedad de Chagas en la población infantil. El estado mexicano de Veracruz fue el pionero de esta iniciativa. Objetivo. Estimar la seroprevalencia de infección por T. cruzi en menores de 15 años de localidades rurales de Veracruz, México. Materiales y métodos. Se identificaron ocho localidades prioritarias para la serología basal del municipio de Tempoal, Veracruz. Entre junio y agosto de 2017, se recolectaron muestras de sangre en papel filtro de 817 individuos para su tamizaje mediante un inmunoensayo enzimático de tercera generación. Los casos reactivos del tamizaje se confirmaron mediante pruebas de hemaglutinación indirecta, ensayo de inmunoabsorción ligado a enzimas e inmunofluorescencia indirecta en muestras de suero. Se calculó la seroprevalencia y su intervalo de confianza (IC) del 95 %. Resultados. En las localidades de Citlaltépetl, Cornizuelo, Cruz de Palma y Rancho Nuevo se confirmaron casos de la enfermedad de Chagas en menores de 15 años con una seroprevalencia de 1,9 % (IC 95 % = 1,12-3,16). Conclusiones. Los resultados indican que estas comunidades presentan transmisión reciente de T. cruzi y permiten establecer una línea epidemiológica de base para el diseño e implementación de un modelo dirigido a aquellas áreas geográficas con transmisión activa. Se espera que dicho modelo contribuya a la eliminación de la transmisión vectorial intradomiciliaria del tripanosomátido en México.

Evidence of Ongoing Transmission of Zika Virus in Mérida, Mexico.

Since the Zika virus (ZIKV) pandemic in 2015-2017, there has been a near absence of reported cases in the Americas outside of Brazil. However, the conditions for Aedes-borne transmission persist in Latin America, and the threat of ZIKV transmission is increasing as population immunity wanes. Mexico has reported only 70 cases of laboratory-confirmed ZIKV infection since 2020, with no cases recorded in the Yucatán peninsula. Here, we provide evidence of active ZIKV transmission, despite the absence of official case reports, in the city of Mérida, Mexico, the capital of the state of Yucatán. Capitalizing on an existing cohort, we detected cases in participants with symptoms consistent with flavivirus infection from 2021 to 2022. Serum samples from suspected cases were tested for ZIKV RNA by polymerase chain reaction or ZIKV-reactive IgM by ELISA. To provide more specific evidence of exposure, focus reduction neutralization tests were performed on ELISA-positive samples. Overall, we observed 25 suspected ZIKV infections for an estimated incidence of 2.8 symptomatic cases per 1,000 persons per year. Our findings emphasize the continuing threat of ZIKV transmission in the setting of decreased surveillance and reporting.

Laboratory Evaluation of Efficacy of the Larvicide Spinosad Against AnophelesStephensi in Jigjiga, Ethiopia.

We report the efficacy of a commercial formulation of the insecticide spinosad against larvae of Anopheles stephensi populations found in the city of Jigjiga, Somali Region, eastern Ethiopia. Batches of 25 larvae (late III to early IV instars) collected from large water storage reservoirs associated with construction sites (the primary An. stephensi larval site in the dry season) were tested under laboratory conditions against each insecticide at a dose recommended by the manufacturer (Natular® G30, 0.02 g/5 liter), following World Health Organization guidelines. Mortality at 24-48 h postexposure was 100%. Results show that spinosad is effective against An. stephensi larvae and suggest that it may be a useful tool as part of larval source management plans aimed at controlling this invasive malaria vector in Ethiopia.

Targeted indoor residual insecticide applications shift Aedes aegypti age structure and arbovirus transmission potential.

While residual insecticide applications have the potential to decrease pathogen transmission by reducing the density of vectors and shifting the age structure of the adult mosquito population towards younger stages of development, this double entomological impact has not been documented for Aedes aegypti. Aedes collected from households enrolled in a cluster-randomized trial evaluating the epidemiological impact of targeted indoor residual spraying (TIRS) in Merida, Mexico, were dissected and their age structure characterized by the Polovodova combined with Christopher's ovariole growth methods. In total, 813 females were dissected to characterize age structure at 1, 3, 6, and 9 months post-TIRS. Significant differences in the proportion of nulliparous Ae. aegypti females between the treatment groups was found at one-month post-TIRS (control: 35% vs. intervention: 59%), three months (20% vs. 49%) but not at six or nine months post-TIRS. TIRS significantly shiftted Ae. aegypti age structure towards younger stages and led to a non-linear reduction in survivorship compared to the control arm. Reduced survivorship also reduced the number of arbovirus transmitting females (those who survived the extrinsic incubation period). Our findings provide strong evidence of the full entomological impact of TIRS, with important implications for quantifying the epidemiological impact of vector control methods.

Building the vector in: construction practices and the invasion and persistence of Anopheles stephensi in Jigjiga, Ethiopia.

Anopheles stephensi is a major vector of malaria in Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, and its recent invasion into Africa poses a major threat to malaria control and elimination efforts on the continent. The mosquito is well adapted to urban environments, and its presence in Africa could potentially lead to an increase in malaria transmission in cities. Most of the knowledge about An stephensi ecology in Africa has been generated from studies conducted during the rainy season, when vectors are most abundant. Here, we provide evidence from the peak of the dry season in the city of Jigjiga in Ethiopia, and report An stephensi immature stages infesting predominantly in water reservoirs made to support construction operations (ie, in construction sites or associated with brick-manufacturing businesses). Political and economic changes in Ethiopia (particularly the Somali Region) have fuelled an unprecedented construction boom since 2018 that, in our opinion, has been instrumental in the establishment, persistence, and propagation of An stephensi via the year-round availability of perennial larval habitats associated with construction. We argue that larval source management during the dry season might provide a unique opportunity for focused control of An stephensi in Jigjiga and similar areas.

Impact of Biomass Burning Organic Aerosol Volatility on Smoke Concentrations Downwind of Fires.

Biomass burning particulate matter (BBPM) affects regional air quality and global climate, with impacts expected to continue to grow over the coming years. We show that studies of North American fires have a systematic altitude dependence in measured BBPM normalized excess mixing ratio (NEMR; ΔPM/ΔCO), with airborne and high-altitude studies showing a factor of 2 higher NEMR than ground-based measurements. We report direct airborne measurements of BBPM volatility that partially explain the difference in the BBPM NEMR observed across platforms. We find that when heated to 40-45 °C in an airborne thermal denuder, 19% of lofted smoke PM1 evaporates. Thermal denuder measurements are consistent with evaporation observed when a single smoke plume was sampled across a range of temperatures as the plume descended from 4 to 2 km altitude. We also demonstrate that chemical aging of smoke and differences in PM emission factors can not fully explain the platform-dependent differences. When the measured PM volatility is applied to output from the High Resolution Rapid Refresh Smoke regional model, we predict a lower PM NEMR at the surface compared to the lofted smoke measured by aircraft. These results emphasize the significant role that gas-particle partitioning plays in determining the air quality impacts of wildfire smoke.

Secondary vectors of Zika Virus, a systematic review of laboratory vector competence studies.

BACKGROUND: After the unprecedented Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in the western hemisphere from 2015-2018, Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are now well established primary and secondary ZIKV vectors, respectively. Consensus about identification and importance of other secondary ZIKV vectors remain. This systematic review aims to provide a list of vector species capable of transmitting ZIKV by reviewing evidence from laboratory vector competence (VC) studies and to identify key knowledge gaps and issues within the ZIKV VC literature. METHODS: A search was performed until 15th March 2022 on the Cochrane Library, Lilacs, PubMed, Web of Science, WHOLIS and Google Scholar. The search strings included three general categories: 1) "ZIKA"; 2) "vector"; 3) "competence", "transmission", "isolation", or "feeding behavior" and their combinations. Inclusion and exclusion criteria has been predefined and quality of included articles was assessed by STROBE and STROME-ID criteria. FINDINGS: From 8,986 articles retrieved, 2,349 non-duplicates were screened by title and abstracts,103 evaluated using the full text, and 45 included in this analysis. Main findings are 1) secondary vectors of interest include Ae. japonicus, Ae. detritus, and Ae. vexans at higher temperature 2) Culex quinquefasciatus was not found to be a competent vector of ZIKV, 3) considerable heterogeneity in VC, depending on the local mosquito strain and virus used in testing was observed. Critical issues or gaps identified included 1) inconsistent definitions of VC parameters across the literature; 2) equivalency of using different mosquito body parts to evaluate VC parameters for infection (mosquito bodies versus midguts), dissemination (heads, legs or wings versus salivary glands), and transmission (detection or virus amplification in saliva, FTA cards, transmission to neonatal mice); 3) articles that fail to use infectious virus assays to confirm the presence of live virus; 4) need for more studies using murine models with immunocompromised mice to infect mosquitoes. CONCLUSION: Recent, large collaborative multi-country projects to conduct large scale evaluations of specific mosquito species represent the most appropriate approach to establish VC of mosquito species.

Residual efficacy of the neonicotinoid insecticide clothianidin against pyrethroid-resistant Aedes aegypti.

BACKGROUND: Here we report the residual efficacy of the neonicotinoid insecticide clothianidin against pyrethroid-resistant Aedes aegypti. We first conducted a range-finding evaluation of clothianidin on three different substrates (wall, wood, cloth) using three doses (100, 300 and 600 mg a.i. m-2 ) and conducting World Health Organization (WHO) cone bioassays to assess acute (24 h) and delayed (up to 7 days) mortality. In experimental houses located in Merida (Mexico) and using free-flying pyrethroid-resistant Ae. aegypti females, we quantified the acute and delayed mortality after a 24-h exposure to the targeted indoor residual spraying (TIRS) of two clothianidin doses (100 and 300 mg a.i. m-2 ). RESULTS: Range-finding studies with WHO cones showed low (<50%) acute mortality for all surfaces, doses and times post spraying. Delayed mortality was higher, with average values above or close to the 60% mark (and 95% confidence interval estimates crossing 80% for the 600 mg a.i. m-2 dose). In experimental houses, a similar low acute mortality was quantified (range of mortality across 12 months was 2-44% for 100 mg a.i. m-2 and 8-61% for 300 mg a.i/m2 ). However, delayed mortality showed a strong effect of clothianidin on free-flying Ae. aegypti, with values above 80% up to 7 months post-TIRS. CONCLUSION: Novel residual insecticide molecules have a promising outlook for Ae. aegypti control and can contribute to the expansion and adoption of TIRS in urban areas. clothianidin can contribute to the control of resistant Ae. aegypti and provide residual control for up to 7 months after application. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Educational intervention for the control of Aedes aegypti with Wolbachia in Yucatan, Mexico.

The implementation of new control strategies for Aedes aegypti (Ae. Aegpyti), a vector of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses, requires communities to adopt specific behaviors to achieve the success of these innovations. AIM: We evaluated the effect of an educational intervention based on the Precede-Proceed Model (PPM) and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DIT) for the control and prevention of diseases transmitted by Ae. aegypti through release of male mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria in a suburban town in Yucatan, Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From July 2019 to February 2020, a quasi-experimental study was carried out through an educational intervention (pre- and post-measurements) using quantitative-qualitative techniques, in a Yucatan suburban town where male mosquitoes with Wolbachia were released for the suppression of Ae. aegypti populations. Eleven educational workshops were attended by heads of household (n = 19) and schoolchildren (n = 11). Other 136 heads of household not attending the workshops received information individually. RESULTS: The educational intervention had a significant effect on the mean scores of the contributing and behavioral factors for adoption of innovation (p < 0.05) in the pre- and post-intervention measurements. CONCLUSION: Innovative methods for the control and prevention of diseases related to Aedes aegypti can be strengthened through educational interventions supported by sound methodologies. DESCRIPTORS: Community health education, Aedes aegypti, Wolbachia, Mexico.

Preventive residual insecticide applications successfully controlled Aedes aegypti in Yucatan, Mexico.

Insecticide-based approaches remain a key pillar for Aedes-borne virus (ABV, dengue, chikungunya, Zika) control, yet they are challenged by the limited effect of traditional outdoor insecticide campaigns responding to reported arboviral cases and by the emergence of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes. A three-arm Phase II unblinded entomological cluster randomized trial was conducted in Merida, Yucatan State, Mexico, to quantify the entomological impact of targeted indoor residual spraying (TIRS, application of residual insecticides in Ae. aegypti indoor resting sites) applied preventively 2 months before the beginning of the arbovirus transmission season. Trial arms involved the use of two insecticides with unrelated modes of action (Actellic 300CS, pirimiphos-methyl, and SumiShield 50WG, clothianidin) and a control arm where TIRS was not applied. Entomological impact was quantified by Prokopack adult collections performed indoors during 10 min per house. Regardless of the insecticide, conducting a preventive TIRS application led to significant reductions in indoor Ae. aegypti densities, which were maintained at the same levels as in the low arbovirus transmission period (Actellic 300CS reduced Ae. aegypti density up to 8 months, whereas SumiShield 50WG up to 6 months). The proportional reduction in Ae. aegypti abundance in treatment houses compared to control houses was 50-70% for Actellic 300CS and 43-63% for SumiShield 50WG. Total operational costs including insecticide ranged from US$4.2 to US$10.5 per house, depending on the insecticide cost. Conducting preventive residual insecticide applications can maintain Ae. aegypti densities at low levels year-round with important implications for preventing ABVs in the Americas and beyond.