Ordenamiento del medio en el programa de erradicacion de Aedes aegypti. Cuba, 1984

Abstract

The dengue epidemic that ravaged Cuba in 1981 cause a total of 344 203 reported cases and 158 deaths. In response to this emergency the Cuba Government launched a major campaign to eradicate the vector, Aedes aegypti, by means of sprayings to kill mosquitoes durint the early months, and a variety of long-term measures to reduce progressively and ultimately to eliminate the vector population. The long-term measures included focal and perifocal treatment of breeding places, the physical destruction of actual and potential breeding places, modification of cisterns and other facilities for the storage of drinking water to make them unsuitable for proliferation of the vector, the introduction of larvivorous fish into lakes and ponds, an intensive education campaign, ongoing surveillance of the mosquito, and the enforcement of provisions that prohibit the maintenance of conditions favorable to the reproduction of A. aegypti. All this work brought the rate of house infestation by the mosquito down from 11 percent or more at the beginning of August 1981 to 0.1 percent in January 1982, and since then the rate has been held at around the latter figure or below. Thus, the campaign is a current example of how this vector can be combatted successfully with enough funds, personnel and equipment, government backing, and the full support of the public