Healy Kristen, Hamilton George, Crepeau Taryn, Healy Sean, Unlu Isik, Farajollahi Ary, Fonseca Dina M
Center for Vector Biology, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States of America.
Monmouth County Mosquito Extermination Commission, Eatontown, New Jersey, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2014 Sep 25;9(9):e108504. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108504. eCollection 2014.
Mosquito species that utilize peridomestic containers for immature development are commonly aggressive human biters, and because they often reach high abundance, create significant nuisance. One of these species, the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus, is an important vector of emerging infectious diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika fevers. Integrated mosquito management (IMM) of Ae. albopictus is particularly difficult because it requires access to private yards in urban and suburban residences. It has become apparent that in the event of a public health concern due to this species, homeowners will have to be active participants in the control process by reducing mosquito habitats in their properties, an activity known as source reduction. However, limited attempts at quantifying the effect of source reduction by homeowners have had mixed results. Of note, many mosquito control programs in the US have some form of education outreach, however the primary approach is often passive focusing on the distribution of education materials as flyers. In 2010, we evaluated the use of active community peer education in a source reduction program, using AmeriCorps volunteers. The volunteers were mobilized over a 4-week period, in two areas with approximately 1,000 residences each in urban Mercer and suburban Monmouth counties in New Jersey, USA. The volunteers were first provided training on peridomestic mosquitoes and on basic approaches to reducing the number of container habitats for mosquito larvae in backyards. Within the two treatment areas the volunteers successfully engaged 758 separate homes. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed a significant reduction in container habitats in the sites where the volunteers actively engaged the community compared to untreated control areas in both counties. Our results suggest that active education using community peer educators can be an effective means of source reduction, and a critical tool in the arsenal against peridomestic mosquitoes.
利用住宅周边容器进行幼虫发育的蚊种通常是攻击性很强的人类叮咬者，而且由于它们数量常常很多，会造成严重滋扰。其中一种蚊种，即亚洲虎蚊白纹伊蚊，是登革热、基孔肯雅热和寨卡热等新出现传染病的重要传播媒介。对白纹伊蚊进行综合蚊虫管理（IMM）特别困难，因为这需要进入城市和郊区住宅的私人庭院。很明显，在因该蚊种引发公共卫生问题时，房主必须通过减少其房产内的蚊虫栖息地来积极参与控制过程，这一活动称为源头减少。然而，量化房主进行源头减少的效果的尝试有限，结果不一。值得注意的是，美国许多蚊虫控制项目都有某种形式的教育推广，但主要方式往往是被动的，侧重于发放传单等教育材料。2010年，我们利用美国服务队志愿者，在一个源头减少项目中评估了积极的社区同伴教育的使用情况。志愿者在为期4周的时间里被动员起来，在美国新泽西州默瑟县城市地区和蒙茅斯县郊区的两个区域开展活动，每个区域约有1000户住宅。志愿者首先接受了关于住宅周边蚊虫以及减少后院蚊虫幼虫容器栖息地数量的基本方法的培训。在这两个治疗区域内，志愿者成功接触了758户不同的家庭。重复测量方差分析表明，与两个县未处理的对照区域相比，志愿者积极参与社区活动的地点的容器栖息地数量显著减少。我们的结果表明，利用社区同伴教育者进行积极教育可以成为源头减少的有效手段，也是应对住宅周边蚊虫的重要工具。
