New strategy against Aedes aegypti in Vietnam

The container-breeding mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is the major global vector of dengue viruses, causing around 50 million infections annually. We have developed a mosquito control strategy, incorporating four elements: (1) a combined vertical and horizontal approach that depends on community understanding; (2) prioritised control according to the larval productivity of major habitat types; (3) use of predacious copepods of the genus Mesocyclops as a biological control agent; delivered by (4) community activities of health volunteers, schools, and the public. We have previously reported that, from 1998 to 2003, community-based vector control had resulted in A aegypti elimination in six of nine communes, with only small numbers of larvae detected in the others. Here, we report eradication in two further communes and, as a result of local expansion after the project in three northern provinces, elimination from 32 of 37 communes (309730 people). As a result, no dengue cases have been detected in any commune since 2002. These findings suggest that this strategy is sustainable in Vietnam and applicable where the major sources of A aegypti are large water storage containers.