Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae): monitoring of populations to improve control strategies in Argentina.

To study the seasonal fluctuations of populations of Aedes aegypti (L.), to improve control strategies, or to monitor chemical control interventions, a lightweight, inexpensive ovitrap made of black plastic, pail-shaped, stackable, and provided with a wood tongue depressor was used. Field assays were performed in the northeast and northwest part of Argentina. In a 1-year trial performed in Tartagal (Salta), almost 100% of the ovitraps were highly positive, collecting a total of 1,000/2,000 eggs during March and the first part of April. A focal treatment in the corresponding neighborhood, performed at this time, immediately began to reduce positive ovitraps in spite of the high temperatures registered, rising again in November after winter season. Another field trial was performed in the whole urban area of Iguazú (Misiones). Mosquito populations were evaluated after three weekly ultra low volume (ULV) applications with an EC formulation of permethrin in water. The number of positive ovitraps diminished from 49% to 10% after the treatments. The last one performed in Wanda (Misiones) showed that positive ovitraps inside the dwellings aided in determining reinfestation rates after an intervention with a smoke-generating formulation containing beta-cypermethrin. The work performed in three different situations in urban areas at high risk of dengue can be considered a preliminary assay to establish the effective performance of simple ovitraps, allowing the Vector Control Service of the Argentinian Ministry of Health its use to improve surveillance and control strategies.