Aedes ægypti control in urban areas: A systemic approach to a complex dynamic.

Authors
Carvalho, Marilia Sá  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9566-0284
Honorio, Nildimar Alves 
Garcia, Leandro Martin Totaro 
Carvalho, Luiz Carlos de Sá 

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Type
Article
Change log
Abstract

The available strategy for controlling the diseases transmitted by Aedes ægypti (dengue fever, Zika, and chikungunya) relies on continued community participation. Despite slogans emphasizing how easy it should be, no country has achieved it since the seventies. To better investigate potentially sustainable interventions, we developed a systemic model based on a multidisciplinary approach, integrating as deeply as possible specialized knowledge and field experience. The resulting model is composed of 4 external and 8 internal subsystems and 31 relationships, consistent with the literature and checked over multiple iterations with specialists of the many areas. We analyzed the model and the main feedback loops responsible for the system's stability, searching for possible interventions that could shift the existing balance. We suggest the introduction of 1 more player, the local primary health care structure, with the potential to change the undesired equilibrium. The health agents in the areas are the first to detect disease cases, and they could stimulate individuals to inform about potential mosquitoes' breeding sites and bring timely information to the vector-control program. Triggering such an action could introduce changes in people's attitude through a positive feedback loop in the desired direction.

Publication Date
2017-07
Online Publication Date
2017-07-27
Acceptance Date
2017-04-12
Keywords
Aedes, Animals, Cities, Community Participation, Humans, Mosquito Control, Mosquito Vectors
Journal Title
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
Journal ISSN
1935-2727
1935-2735
Volume Title
11
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)