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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 81(1), 2009, pp. 100-107
Copyright © 2009 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Simplified Pupal Surveys of Aedes aegypti (L.) for Entomologic Surveillance and Dengue Control

Roberto Barrera*
Dengue Branch, Division of Vector Borne Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Pupal surveys of Aedes aegypti (L.) are useful indicators of risk for dengue transmission, although sample sizes for reliable estimations can be large. This study explores two methods for making pupal surveys more practical yet reliable and used data from 10 pupal surveys conducted in Puerto Rico during 2004–2008. The number of pupae per person for each sampling followed a negative binomial distribution, thus showing aggregation. One method found a common aggregation parameter (k) for the negative binomial distribution, a finding that enabled the application of a sequential sampling method requiring few samples to determine whether the number of pupae/person was above a vector density threshold for dengue transmission. A second approach used the finding that the mean number of pupae/person is correlated with the proportion of pupa-infested households and calculated equivalent threshold proportions of pupa-positive households. A sequential sampling program was also developed for this method to determine whether observed proportions of infested households were above threshold levels. These methods can be used to validate entomological thresholds for dengue transmission.

Received November 26, 2008. Accepted for publication March 25, 2009.

Acknowledgments: The author thanks the Division of Entomology and Ecology Activity, Dengue Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the exemplary work that provided data from the 10 pupal surveys in Puerto Rico; he especially thanks the following personnel: Manuel Amador, Annette Diaz, Veronica Acevedo, Belkis Caban, Juan Medina, Jesús Flores, Gilberto Felix, Orlando González, and Andrew MacKay. Dr. Rhonda J. Ray reviewed and corrected the manuscript.

Financial support: Funding for this study was provided for by the Division of Vector Borne Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Disclosure: The author does not have a commercial or other association that might pose a conflict of interest.

* Address correspondence to Roberto Barrera, Dengue Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Calle Canada, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00920. E-mail: rbarrera{at}cdc.gov

Author’s address: Roberto Barrera, Dengue Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Calle Canada, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00920, Tel: 787-706-2399, Fax: 787-706-2496, E-mail: rbarrera{at}cdc.gov.






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Copyright © 2009 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.