Aedes aegypti in Puerto Rico: environmental determinants of larval abundance and relation to dengue virus transmission
Moore, C.G.; Cline, B.L.; Ruiz-Tibén, E.; Lee, D.; Romney-Joseph, H.; Rivera-Correa, E.
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 27(6): 1225-1231
1978
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9637 PMID: 727328 Document Number: 127520
In order to understand adequately the dynamics of vector-borne disease, the reasons how and why vector populations change over time must be understood. A long-term cooperative study of seasonal fluctuation in populations of Aedes aegypti (L.) in Puerto Rico is described. During each month of the first 3 years of the project, A. aegypti was found breeding in all 5 communities studied. Mosquito density was positively correlated with rainfall, the relationship being more marked in the dry south-coastal part of the island. Discarded tyres and animal watering pans were the two most common larval breeding sites. In general, houses in Puerto Rico harboured more potential A. aegypti breeding sites than those in other tropical locations, probably because Puerto Rico is relatively more affluent.