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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. 

Here we introduce a demand-driven framework designed to implement climate services in the health sector, with a particular focus on the Caribbean region. Climate services are essential for supporting informed decision-making and response strategies in relation to climate-related health risks. Through collaborative efforts, we are co-producing a climate-driven dengue early warning system (EWS) to target vector-borne diseases effectively. While challenges exist in implementing such systems, EWSs provide valuable tools for managing epidemic risks by predicting potential disease outbreaks in advance. The scarcity of operational climate tools in the health sector underscores the need for increased investment and strategic implementation practices. To address these challenges, a demand-driven framework is proposed, emphasizing strategic planning focused on health intervention development, partnership building, data, communication, human resources, capacity building, and sustainable funding. This framework aims to integrate climate services seamlessly into health systems, thereby enhancing public health resilience and facilitating well-informed decision-making to effectively address climate-sensitive diseases. 

Abstract The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report (IPCC-AR6) report brought into sharp relief the potential health impacts of a changing climate across large geographic regions. It also highlighted the gaps in available evidence to support detailed quantitative assessments of health impacts for many regions. In an increasingly urbanizing world, there is a need for additional information about the risk of mosquito-borne diseases from vectors adapted to human water storage behavior. Specifically, a better understanding of the geographic distribution of disease risk under different scenarios of climate warming and human populations shifts. For the Central and South America chapter of the IPCC Working Group II report, regional extractions of published projections of dengue and Zika risk in a changing climate were generated by one of the authors of this study. In that process, the lack of a compendium of available published risk estimates became apparent. This paper responds to that need and extends the scope of the IPCC report results for Central and South America. We present novel geospatial descriptions of risk for transmission for five mosquito-borne disease systems under future projected climate and demographic scenarios, including the potential risk for malaria in the event of the introduction and establishment of a vector of high global concern,Anopheles stephensi. We then present country-level and IPCC geospatial sub-region risk descriptions under baseline and future projected scenarios. By including demographic projections using the shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios, we capture potential future risk in a way that is transparent and straightforward to compare and replicate. The goal of this paper is to report on these model output data and their availability. From a sub-regional perspective, the largest proportional gains in risk will be seen in the Southwestern South America (SWS) sub-region, comprising much of the southwestern coastline, for which suitability forAedes aegyptitransmitted dengue and Zika risk will see massive increases with warming, putting a large number of people at risk under future scenarios. In contrast, at the country level, the largest projected population risk impacts will be seen in Brazil for both arboviral and potential introduced malaria risk, despite some risks projected to decrease as parts of the country are too hot to sustain transmission risk. This paper provides modeled outputs for future use, in addition to broad summary descriptions at regional and country levels. 

We performed an arboviral survey in mosquitoes from four endemic Ecuadorian cities (Huaquillas, Machala, Portovelo and Zaruma) during the epidemic period 2016–2018. Collections were performed during the pre-rainy season (2016), peak transmission season (2017) and post-rainy season (2018).Ae.aegyptimosquitoes were pooled by date, location and sex. Pools were screened by RT-PCR for the presence of ZIKV RNA, and infection rates (IRs) per 1,000 specimens were calculated. A total of 2,592 pools (comprising 6,197 mosquitoes) were screened. Our results reveal high IRs in all cities and periods sampled. Overall IRs among female mosquitoes were highest in Machala (89.2), followed by Portovelo (66.4), Zaruma (47.4) and Huaquillas (41.9). Among male mosquitoes, overall IRs were highest in Machala (35.6), followed by Portovelo (33.1), Huaquillas (31.9) and Zaruma (27.9), suggesting that alternative transmission routes (vertical/venereal) can play important roles for ZIKV maintenance in the vector population of these areas. Additionally, we propose that the stabilization of ZIKV vertical transmission in the vector population could help explain the presence of high IRs in field-caught mosquitoes during inter-epidemic periods. 

Arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti (e.g., dengue, chikungunya, Zika) are of major public health concern on the arid coastal border of Ecuador and Peru. This high transit border is a critical disease surveillance site due to human movement-associated risk of transmission. Local level studies are thus integral to capturing the dynamics and distribution of vector populations and social-ecological drivers of risk, to inform targeted public health interventions. Our study examines factors associated with household-level Ae . aegypti presence in Huaquillas, Ecuador, while accounting for spatial and temporal effects. From January to May of 2017, adult mosquitoes were collected from a cohort of households (n = 63) in clusters (n = 10), across the city of Huaquillas, using aspirator backpacks. Household surveys describing housing conditions, demographics, economics, travel, disease prevention, and city services were conducted by local enumerators. This study was conducted during the normal arbovirus transmission season (January—May), but during an exceptionally dry year. Household level Ae . aegypti presence peaked in February, and counts were highest in weeks with high temperatures and a week after increased rainfall. Univariate analyses with proportional odds logistic regression were used to explore household social-ecological variables and female Ae . aegypti presence. We found that homes were more likely to have Ae . aegypti when households had interruptions in piped water service. Ae . aegypti presence was less likely in households with septic systems. Based on our findings, infrastructure access and seasonal climate are important considerations for vector control in this city, and even in dry years, the arid environment of Huaquillas supports Ae . aegypti breeding habitat. 

Abstract Climate drives population dynamics through multiple mechanisms, which can lead to seemingly context-dependent effects of climate on natural populations. For climate-sensitive diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, climate appears to have opposing effects in different contexts. Here we show that a model, parameterized with laboratory measured climate-driven mosquito physiology, captures three key epidemic characteristics across ecologically and culturally distinct settings in Ecuador and Kenya: the number, timing, and duration of outbreaks. The model generates a range of disease dynamics consistent with observed Aedes aegypti abundances and laboratory-confirmed arboviral incidence with variable accuracy (28–85% for vectors, 44–88% for incidence). The model predicted vector dynamics better in sites with a smaller proportion of young children in the population, lower mean temperature, and homes with piped water and made of cement. Models with limited calibration that robustly capture climate-virus relationships can help guide intervention efforts and climate change disease projections.