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Traditional mosquito vector control methods have proved ineffective in controlling the spread of dengue fever. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of community engagement through student-led science in promoting dengue prevention and socioecological factors in the temperate urban city of Córdoba, Argentina. It assesses community perceptions, knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices regarding dengue fever and its vector. Results showed a significant increase in knowledge about the vector and the disease and respondents’ adoption of good preventive practices. Student-led science was identified as a valuable tool for reaching households and leading to behavior changes at home. Furthermore, the findings highlighted the need for school programs to address vector biology and vector-borne disease prevention all year round. This study provides invaluable insights into the effectiveness of community engagement through student-led science to promote dengue prevention and socioecological factors. The findings suggest that this approach could be used to control the spread in other regions affected by the disease.
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This content will become publicly available on January 1, 2026
Equilibrium properties of a coupled contagion model of mosquito-borne disease and mosquito preventive behaviors
Although different strategies for mosquito-borne disease prevention can vary significantly in their efficacy and scale of implementation, they all require that individuals comply with their use. Despite this, human behavior is rarely considered in mathematical models of mosquito-borne diseases. Here, we sought to address that gap by establishing general expectations for how different behavioral stimuli and forms of mosquito prevention shape the equilibrium prevalence of disease. To accomplish this, we developed a coupled contagion model tailored to the epidemiology of dengue and preventive behaviors relevant to it. Under our model's parameterization, we found that mosquito biting was the most important driver of behavior uptake. In contrast, encounters with individuals experiencing disease or engaging in preventive behaviors themselves had a smaller influence on behavior uptake. The relative influence of these three stimuli reflected the relative frequency with which individuals encountered them. We also found that two distinct forms of mosquito prevention—namely, personal protection and mosquito density reduction—mediated different influences of behavior on equilibrium disease prevalence. Our results highlight that unique features of coupled contagion models can arise in disease systems with distinct biological features.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2327814
- PAR ID:
- 10629094
- Publisher / Repository:
- AIMS Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering
- Volume:
- 22
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 1551-0018
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1875 to 1897
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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