R Barrera

..The combined action of cleaning and bleach is expected to reduce available larval food, reduce the amount of NaOCl for treating the container, and make it less attractive for future mosquito oviposition...

..The greatest risk for contracting WNV would be visiting forests and swamps at night. Culex (Culex) and Culex (Melanoconion) mosquito species were more abundant during the transition dry-wet seasons (March-May)...

..Our results indicate that Ae. mediovittatus may have a relatively high rate of vector-human contact, which might facilitate virus transmission or harborage in rural areas of Puerto Rico...

..Peaks in mosquito density preceded maximum dengue incidence; and 5. Ae. aegypti dynamics were driven by weather and human activity and oviposition was significantly correlated with dengue incidence...

..e., reptiles) among the candidate WNV vectors. We interpret the results with respect to vectorial capacity for West Nile virus, an emerging arbovirus throughout the Caribbean Basin...

..17/1,000) and identified in one pool of thoraxes and abdomens of Culex habilitator Dyar and Knab (13.39/1,000). Accumulated evidence since 2002 suggests that WNV has not become endemic in Puerto Rico...

..These methods can be used to validate entomological thresholds for dengue transmission...

..This mutation has been observed in the current dominant clade circulating in the United States. Sentinel chicken surveillance was a useful tool for the detection of West Nile virus in the tropics...

..Septic tanks are likely to be common and widespread in suburban and rural Puerto Rico, where, apparently, they can contribute significantly to the maintenance of island-wide dengue virus endemicity...

..Validation of the Ae. aegypti thresholds required for dengue transmission could confer viability and efficiency to dengue-vector surveillance and control programmes...

..aegypti. There was significant spatial stability throughout the study in both locations. The consistency in trap productivity in time could be used to increase the effectiveness of vector and dengue control programs...

..Phylogenetic analysis of the 4 isolates suggests a recent introduction of lineage I WNV that is closely related to WNV currently circulating in North America...

..It is recommended that dengue prevention programs include regular inspection and maintenance of septic tanks in communities lacking sewerage...

..aegypti productivity and removal or control of shaded, larger containers would eliminate the production of the largest emerging mosquito females in the study area...

..Using number of Ae. aegypti larvae, Breteau Index, or the presence of immature forms as indicators of pupal productivity is not as efficient in identifying the most productive types of containers as direct pupal counts...

..These results allowed us to interpret better our previous studies on mosquito adult spread in the study area and their possible role as VEEV disseminators...

..aegypti in water-storage containers should eliminate all or most of the individuals, otherwise unintended, undesirable results might occur, such as the production of more and larger adults...

..aegypti with HDH in urban areas, Culex quinquefasciatus with LDH in suburbs, and Ae. mediovittatus and other native mosquitoes (Cx. antillummagnorum, Toxorhynchites portoricencis) with less disturbed habitats (forests, LDH)...

..In contrast, enzootic VEEV strains are highly specialized and appear to utilize vectors exclusively in the Spissipes section of the Culex (Melanoconion) subgenus...

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