Standards & Regulations Analysis

The aedes mosquito species has been a serious public health menace for a long time. The species alone is responsible for different types of arboviruses which cause such infectious diseases as dengue and chikungunya to mention but a few. There have been efforts to eradicate the aedes mosquito population, but not all of the efforts have met with the desired level of success.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), water storage tanks, wells, pools et cetera have to be treated if they are found to contain aedes mosquito larvae (Maciel-de-Freitas & Valle, 2014.) Once the samples are found to contain the species of mosquito suspected to carry an arbovirus, the water is treated with diflubenzuron. Under normal circumstances, the treatment is done to get a good idea of the level of infestation being experienced by the communities affected.

Over the past few years, when the fairly new strain of dengue virus 4 was discovered in Boa Vista, there was a consolidation of efforts by the federal, state and municipal governments to control the spread of the virus; controlling the aedes species of mosquito is important because in effect, it has the potential to eliminate the spread of zika virus since it is also considered an arbovirus.  The intensification efforts included an inspection of about fifty-six thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven (56837) households which resulted in close to one hundred thousand (100,000) water storage tanks being removed. Unfortunately, the exercise only yielded miniscule results (Maciel-de-Freitas & Valle, 2014.) Prior to that, just before the usual dengue fever season in Brazil, there is a special day set aside to mobilize residents in affected areas to engage in mosquito control efforts. The “D-day against Dengue” was however, unsuccessful because the efforts are not sustained all year round.

In recent times, however, the WHO has sanctioned the use of genetically engineered aedes mosquito species in efforts to control the spread of the vector (Oxitec mosquito works to control aedes aegypti in dengue hotspot) in Brazil. The artificially developed aedes species was tested and studied first in 2012 and then again in 2015 possibly in response to the zika virus outbreak. According to reports, the city of Piracicaba with support from the WHO, as at 2015 have put in place a plan to begin the artificial control of mosquitoes (Oxitec mosquito works to control aedes aegypti in dengue hotspot 2015.)

The genetically engineered species are made in such a way that they require tetracycline to develop past the larvae stage (Carvalho et al., 2015.) Once they reach adulthood and are ready to mate they are released into the environment to mate with the naturally developed female aedes mosquitoes. Since their offspring will have no access to tetracycline, the males and their offspring die off soon enough with neither the opportunity nor ability to mate and create new larvae (Carvalho et. al., 2015.)

The city of Piracicaba has seen a ninety-five percent (95%) reduction in aedes mosquito population since the new plan was rolled out (Oxitec mosquito works to control aedes aegypti in dengue hotspot 2015.) The new approach has been helpful in protecting the environment from the excessive use of pesticides which would have been the natural alternative considering the population of mosquitoes in the northeastern regions of Brazil.

In terms of additional efforts that could protect the health of the most at-risk population, infrastructural development and proper sewage treatment systems will both go a long way to protect the populace and the environment. The municipal governments will have to involve the residents of all the affected towns and mobilize them in a bid to reduce waste (Maciel-de-Freitas 2014.) It is not a secret that for most of northeastern Brazil, the residents mostly live in dangerously close proximity to the waste they create; therefore, if the government creates awareness about proper waste disposal and also ways to dispose what little waste is created, the breeding ground and consequently aedes mosquito population will be greatly reduced if not totally eliminated. Once again, creating more efficient and sustainable waste disposal mechanisms eliminates the necessity of insecticides. Doing away with insecticides has the potential to save the environment, residents and animals from dangerous toxins which can pose an entirely different set of problems of its own.

In places like Bahía for instance, most of the community dwellings are slums. In effect, the nature of the structures disallows the free flow of sewage and other unnatural water bodies. Once again, it will be important to have the government at the federal, state and municipal levels devote money for the renovation of the buildings. Additionally, the government needs to make available affordable, sustainable means of accessing potable drinking water for the inhabitants in order to get them to stop storing water that later on tends to serve as breeding grounds for the vectors. The added proposals are quite expensive and will require a lot of money which is a con. On the other hand, considering the fact that they are all preventive measures, it implies that the government will not have to spend more money later in trying to curb the situation and expanding hospitals for emergency care during a major outbreak like has been the case recently with the zika virus and dengue fever in the past. In the long-term then, developing current infrastructure and making available more efficient means of sewage disposal will save the government money while saving human lives as well.

References

Carvalho, D. O., McKemey, A. R., Garziera, L., Lacroix, R., Donnelly, C. A., Alphey, L., ... & Capurro, M. L. (2015). Suppression of a field population of Aedes aegypti in Brazil by sustained release of transgenic male mosquitoes. PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 9(7), e0003864.

Maciel-de-Freitas, R., & Valle, D. (2014). Challenges encountered using standard vector control measures for dengue in Boa Vista, Brazil. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 92(9), 685-689.

Oxitec mosquito works to control aedes aegypti in dengue hotspot. (2015, Jul 02).PR Newswire Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1692813094?accountid=7398