Brazil is going through an outbreak of dengue fever. According to the latest report of the Ministry of Health, released last Monday (March 16th), the country currently has 757,068 diagnosed cases of the disease. The number refers to the firs 18 weeks of the year, representing an increase of 151.4% regarding the same period in 2021. While we are still in May, 2022 already has a higher total number of cases than the entire year of 2021.

Managed by Fiotec, a project of the Leônidas and Maria Deane Institute (ILMD), Fiocruz Amazônia, is developing a mechanism that helps trace public policies of fight against the Aedes aegypti. These are simple “traps” consisting of a little water in a bucket, covered with a piece of fabric with loose threads so mosquitos can go through. The water in the bucket contains a larvicide specific for Aedes aegypti. The idea is that mosquitos would land there, unknowingly pick up larvicide and then spread it, just like bees do with pollen.

Studies are taking place in the state of Amazonas, coordinated by researcher Sérgio Luz. He emphasizes that the strategy is yet another important tool to fight the mosquito, but that it is still crucial to have the entire population committed to eliminating possible mosquito breeding grounds in their homes, making sure open containers are stored upside down, covering their water reservoirs, and adding sand to plates beneath plant pots.

The project is the continuation of a study that began in 2017. In March, eight cities in the state of Amazonas received from the Ministry of Health the larvicide necessary to expand the control strategy against Aedes aegypti. A project analyst for Fiotec, Fernanda Mota celebrates the progress of the study, even with the obstacles presented by the pandemic of another disease, Covid-19. According to mota, there has been a significant reduction in the offer of important suppliers, with whom very specific acquisitions were negotiated. “It is rewarding to see, in each demand we receive, the beginning of an important activity related to the study that is part of our fight to slow down the proliferation of a mosquito that transmits not only dengue fever, but also zika and chikungunya”.

Next steps
A course is already being developed for health workers in Amazonas, to expand the strategy of Larvicide Dissemination Stations. The idea is to take the mechanism to all 62 municipalities of the state, and later to the entire country.

The technology is expected to be transferred to the Ministry of Health before the year is over, incorporating the strategy as National Directive of the General Coordination of Surveillance of Arboviruses/SVS-MS. The expansion of the mechanism may even reach countries that have borders with Brazil.