Caracterización de la infestación de viviendas por tres especies de mosquitos (Diptera: Culicidae) de importancia médica en Países de Bajos y medios ingresos: recomendaciones para su control doméstico

Among the synanthropic mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae) that exist in the Americas region, three play a leading role in the transmission of diseases of medical importance in low- and middle-income countries: Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus. In order to characterize the household infestation of these mosquitoes, an entomological study was conducted in the municipalities of Jutiapa (Guatemala) and Jarabacoa (Dominican Republic), both included in the LMIC classification. In each municipality, 100 randomly selected households were sampled; in each breeding site, as many larvae and/or pupae as possible were captured with the help of Pasteur pipettes, plastic trays and hermetic jars. The percentage of water holding containers infested by any of the Culicidae species studied was similar in both municipalities (Jutiapa = 27.9%, Jarabacoa = 20.0%); among these, those located in the peri-domicile (Jutiapa = 76.3%, Jarabacoa = 93.7%) and in permanent and serviceable containers (Jutiapa = 79.6%, Jarabacoa = 56.9%) predominated. In general, Ae. aegypti was the species that colonized the most deposits (Jutiapa = 92, Jarabacoa = 84), whether or not in cohabitation with other species. The results reinforce the need to develop communication and community awareness strategies contextualized to the characteristics of each territory and species, as well as to focus efforts towards domestic control, taking into account their contributions to the effectiveness and sustainability of integrated management of culicids in these and other municipalities with similar characteristics.