The Open Tropical Medicine Journal

2013, 6 : 5-10
Published online 2013 December 27. DOI: 10.2174/1874315301306010005
Publisher ID: TOTMJ-6-5

Occurrence of Aedes aegypti (Diptera, Culicidae) in a Dengue Transmission Area at Coastal Maranhão State, Brazil

Juliana Maria Trindade Bezerra , Jivanildo Pinheiro Miranda , Joaquim Pinto Nunes Neto , Ana Cecilia Ribeiro Cruz , Wanderli Pedro Tadei and Valeria Cristina Soares Pinheiro
Curso de Ciencias Biológicas, Laboratorio de Entomologia Medica, Universidade Estadual do Maranhao – Centro de Estudos Superiores de Caxias. Praca Duque de Caxias s/n Morro do Alecrim, Caxias – MA, 65600-000, Brazil.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to estimate the occurrence of Aedes aegypti adults at distinct climatic seasons at neighbor-hoods from the municipality of São Luís, Maranhão State, Brazil, as well as to verify the presence of Dengue virus (DENV) in the specimens collected. A total of 320 properties were visited in eight neighborhoods that were previously randomly chosen. Samplings were made at three periods: dry season/2008, rainy season/2009 and dry season/2009. A to-tal of 563 Ae. aegypti mosquitoes were collected, with 141 of them collected during dry season/2008, 272 during rainy season/2009 and the remnant, during dry season/2009. Specimen were divided into lots and subjected to RT-semi-nested-PCR analysis and virus isolation was carried out using cell culture (C6/36 clone) of Ae. albopictus. The number of adults significantly varied at the neighborhoods of Coreia de Baixo, Lira, João Paulo, and Conjunto Cohatrac I. Molecular anal-yses of specimens showed no positivity for DENV. At the municipality of São Luis, seasonal climate variation might in-fluence the density of Ae. aegypti adults, however, other factors such as population density, sanitation conditions, and the presence of mosquito breeding sites ought to be assessed as important parameters influencing vector dispersion.

Keywords:

Ae. aegypti, climatic factors, dengue.