Environmental characteristics of the cemeteries of Buenos Aires City (Argentina) and infestation levels of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

• Main Authors: Vezzani Darío, Velázquez Stella M, Soto Silvina, Schweigmann Nicolás J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 2001-01-01
• Series: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
• Subjects: Aedes aegypti; cemeteries; vegetation cover; container availability; dengue; Buenos Aires; Argentina
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762001000400005

Cemeteries with many water-filled containers, flowers, sources of human blood, and shade are favorable urban habitats for the proliferation of Aedes aegypti, a vector of yellow fever and dengue. A total of 22,956 containers was examined in the five cemeteries of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The vector was found in four cemeteries that showed an average infestation level of 5.5% (617 positive out of 11,196 water-filled containers). The four cemeteries positive for Ae. aegypti showed significantly different (p<0.01) infestation levels. Vegetation cover and percentage of infestation were significantly correlated (p<0.01), but neither cemetery area nor number of available containers were significantly related to the proportion of positive vases. Our results suggest that the cemeteries of Buenos Aires represent a gradient of habitat favorableness for this vector species, some of which may act as foci for its proliferation and dispersal.