A meeting promoted by the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) brought together, at the Institute's headquarters in Atlanta, a select group of researchers and representatives from public authorities and industry in search of strategies to control of Aedes aegypti in North American territories.

The only Brazilian representative at the meeting, the researcher from the Flavivirus Molecular Biology Laboratory at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz), Denise Valle, had the mission of presenting some of the approaches adopted in Brazil.

The meeting, called 'Strategies for Vector Control of Aedes aegypti and Diseases Transmitted by It: Charting the Way Forward', held in the last week of February, was a preparation by the CDC for the approach of warmer seasons in the northern hemisphere, which favor the proliferation of mosquitoes.

According to data from the institution, more than 42 thousand people in the United States and its territories have already been infected by the Zika virus, with 4.6 thousand pregnant women having laboratory confirmation of the infection.

"Unlike Brazil, a tropical country, the United States did not have a history of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, mainly Aedes. However, the Zika virus was able to spread reasonably easily there and in 60 other countries. This raised levels of alert from the CDC, the largest research center in the world. Americans are trying to anticipate new outbreaks and epidemics, by developing strategies to control Aedes and, thus, prevent Zika and other diseases from spreading across northern territories. -Americans. All countries, including Brazil, need to always be aware of the possibility of emergence and re-emergence of disease-causing pathogens", said Denise Valle, who has worked for almost two decades with Aedes surveillance and control methods.

During the table 'Challenges for the Implementation of Control Strategies', Denise, who for 13 years worked in the coordination of the National Network for Monitoring Resistance of Aedes aegypti Insecticides (MoReNAa), together with the Ministry of Health, presented a historical overview of chemical control of the vector in the country and explained the challenges of the indiscriminate use of insecticides.

The biologist, who is one of the organizers of an award-winning book on dengue Dengue: theories and practices, published by Editora F.iocruz, also addressed the importance of engaging the population and media outlets in combating mosquitoes.

"Since 2009, we have developed IOC, systematically, methods for disseminating correct information about Aedes through workshops with information multiplier agents. We have already had the opportunity to engage hundreds of journalists, scouts, teachers, students and military personnel", celebrated Denise.

"The experts present at the meeting held at the CDC commented a lot on this approach, which uses awareness, not chemical weapons", he added.

The initiative '10 minutes against Aedes', created by Denise and other researchers and communication professionals from the IOC, was also the target of interest at the event. According to the concept, a weekly inspection of 10 minutes is sufficient to eliminate possible breeding sites for the Aedes aegypti.

"Periodic intervention is sufficient to interrupt the mosquito's life cycle, which takes 7 to 10 days to develop from an egg to an adult," he explained.

Inspired by a successful government action carried out in Singapore, the 10-minute concept, launched in 2011, is widely spread across Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, for example, in the year following the implementation of the concept as an official campaign by the State Department of Health, the number of municipalities with tolerable rates of Aedes infestation increased threefold.

Another initiative presented was the video classes project 'Aedes aegypti: Introduction to the Scientific Aspects of Vector', which provides free online classes on various aspects of the dengue, Zika and chikungunya virus vector.

Since its launch in 2013, there have been more than 200 thousand views on YouTube, from 107 countries. In Brazil, education departments in ten states acted as partners by distributing posters in schools and sending promotional material to teachers.

The partnership reached around 14 thousand schools, distributed across the five regions of the country.

The project also received spontaneous support from several city halls, as well as professionals in the areas of Health and Education.

Mosquitoes with bacteria that inhibit the transmission of viruses, genetically modified Aedes, development of new insecticides, repellents and insect capture traps for scientific studies, in addition to the implementation of methods capable of measuring entomological and epidemiological impacts were also among the topics discussed at the meeting .

"The solution to control Aedes and the diseases transmitted by it is not an exclusive mission of the Health sector and does not depend solely on technical tools. It is necessary to act based on intersectorality and value direct interaction with the population. Furthermore, it is It is essential to have social responsibility, both in the private sphere, in the sense of maintaining domestic spaces, without accumulated water that could become a breeding ground, and in the public sphere, with actions that guarantee the cleanliness of common spaces, in addition to the population's access to sanitation basic supplies and regular water supply", he concluded.