Prevention Research

https://www.cdc.gov/features/stopmosquitoes/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/pdfs/fs_mosquito_bite_prevention_us.pdf

  • use an EPA-registered insect repellent (safe and effective, even from pregnant and breastfeeding women)
    • reapply every few hours, per instructions
    • don’t spray on skin under clothes
    • apply sunscreen first, then insect repellent
    • no OLE or PMD on children under 3
    • key ingredients
      • DEET
      • Picaridin (AKA KBR 3023 and icaridin)
      • IR3535
      • Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE)
      • Para-menthane-diol (PMD)
      • 2-undecanone
  • wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants
    • permethrin-treated clothes protect after multiple washings
  • wear light colors
  • wear shoes/foot protection (mosquitoes are attracted to skin odor)
  • use window/door screens or a mosquito bed net
  • biting habits of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus: primarily daytime, sometimes at night

https://bestlifeonline.com/avoid-mosquito-bites/

  • basil is toxic to mosquito larvae
  • burning thyme is 85-90% effective at repelling mosquitoes
  • use fans

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genetically-engineered-mosquitoes/

  • genetically engineered mosquitoes have been released in the Cayman Islands, Malaysia, and Brazil to counteract dengue
  • developed by Oxitec
  • targeting Dengue because it is only 1 subspecies of mosquito

References

CDC. (n.d.). Mosquito Bite Prevention (United States) [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/pdfs/fs_mosquito_bite_prevention_us.pdf

CDC. (2018, March 19). Mosquito Bites. Retrieved April 17, 2019, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: http://www.cdc.gov/features/stopmosquitoes/

Genetically Engineered…Mosquitoes? (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from Scientific American website: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genetically-engineered-mosquitoes/

BestLifeOnline.com (2018, May 9). 20 Genius Tricks to Avoid Getting Bitten by Mosquitos. Retrieved April 17, 2019, from Best Life website: https://bestlifeonline.com/avoid-mosquito-bites/

Existing Prevention Mechanisms

What prevention methods are already in place?

  • WHO
    • In 2016 the World Health Organizations created a national 5-year strategic plan.
    • Key elements of the plan included:
    • “strengthening the integrated surveillance system;
    • expanding the electronic diseases early warning system;
    • supporting the entomological surveillance system in high risk areas;
    • implementing additional campaigns to control the vector by insecticide spraying;
    • deploying additional human resources to the affected governorates;
    • training physicians on clinical management of dengue and intensifying health education among population.”
      Image illustrating insecticide spraying in Yemen
  • WHO Health Clusters
    • According to the 2017 Yemen annual report, these WHO health clusters are “international organizations (INGOs), national non- governmental organizations (NNGOs), affected communities, specialized agencies, academic and training institutes, and UN agencies” (page 12)
    • In 2017 they gave “it facilitated the transportation of 1.5 million bed nets to 76 districts in Yemen.” And also “WHO supported the implementation of an indoor residual spraying campaign which provides protection to 1.3 million people against malaria.” (page 38)

        • Some of their achievements include:
          • health contingency plans prepared for different scenarios such as crises in the north and south, political conflict and non-displaced populations
          • standardized package prepared for primary health care services
          • standardized package prepared for reproductive health, with reporting indicators
          • implementation of the standardized disease reporting formats
        • They also have through “international procurement… emergency health kits, trauma kits and diarrhea disease kits, and local procurement of other urgently needed lifesaving supplies”.
        • These cluster are very useful as they already have areas where can use to access these areas of need. Moreover, since they use grassroots organizations we can move from one controlled government to another.
        • the Dengue vaccine
          • Approved for use in Brazil, Mexico, El Salvador, and the Philippines, with more countries planning to introduce it shortly.
          • “The World Health Organization is still analyzing data concerning the vaccine’s safety, efficacy, dose scheduling, and cost-effectiveness. Trials for this vaccine have shown that it has lower efficacy rates for DENV-1 and DENV-2 serotypes. The vaccine is only available to people living in Dengue endemic areas. There are currently no plans to make it available to travelers.”
      • These clusters are important as they are grassroots movements (when they use people from the community as basis for economic and political movement) and volunteers

Where can we focus?

The coast should be our main concentration as that is where most people live, where there is the highest vulnerability as well as the highest concentration of health facilities.

Where does the money come from?

  • WHO has a lot of donors who specifically helps give aid to Yemen
  • Donors: http://www.emro.who.int/yem/donors/
  • If create a partnership with the WHO we can gain access to these donors to create our solution.

Methods to repel mosquitoes

Obvious ways to repel mosquitoes?

      

 

References

Bart Knols: 3 new ways to kill mosquitoes | TED Talk. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://www.ted.com/talks/bart_knols_cheese_dogs_and_pills_to_end_malaria/transcript?language=en

Dengue: Innovative solutions to a global health issue | IAMAT. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://www.iamat.org/blog/dengue-innovative-solutions-to-a-global-health-issue/

The Effectiveness of Botanical Extracts as Repellents Against Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes | AMNH. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-collections/young-naturalist-awards/winning-essays2/2009-winning-essays/the-effectiveness-of-botanical-extracts-as-repellents-against-aedes-aegypti-mosquitoes

WHO EMRO | Donors | Yemen. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from http://www.emro.who.int/yem/donors/

WHO EMRO | Emergency preparedness and humanitarian action | Programmes | Yemen. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from http://www.emro.who.int/yem/programmes/emergency-humanitarian-action.html

WHO EMRO | WHO develops national strategy for dengue prevention and control | Yemen-news | Yemen. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from http://www.emro.who.int/yem/yemen-news/who-develops-national-strategy-for-dengue-prevention-and-control.html

Yemen: Dengue | IAMAT. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://www.iamat.org/country/yemen/risk/dengue

 

04/15-04/21 Update

Want to see our updates all in one spot? Click here.

Tasks Remaining for Monday Meeting:

  • Danielle – update References list

    Tasks Remaining for Wednesday Meeting:

    • Taye – post research on Dengue Survival Kit
    • Franklin – post research on Insect Repellent Lotion
    • Leila – post research on clothes-washing practices; Insect-Repelling Bath Bombs
    • Danielle – update References list
    • Taye – post further research on Dengue Survival Kit
    • Danielle – post further research on pricing and harmful aspects of Insecticide Lamp
    • Leila – post further research on safety aspects of Bath Bombs
    • Franklin – post further research on engineering aspect of Insect Repellent Lotion

Tasks Completed:

  • Danielle – post research on Insecticide-Coated Solar-Powered Lamp see post
  • Danielle – post initial prevention mechanism research see post
  • Taye – post initial prevention mechanism research see post
  • Leila – post initial prevent mechanism research see post

Upcoming Deadlines:

  • Individual CATME Peer Evaluations due Monday, April 15th at 2:30 PM
  • Individual CATME Peer Evaluations due Monday, April 22nd at 2:30 PM
  • Checkpoint 2 due Wednesday, April 24th at 2:30 PM

Checkpoint 1

Dengue is a vector-borne viral infection that affects many parts of the world. With up to 100 million infections occurring annually, dengue has placed nearly half of the world’s population at risk. Dengue causes severe, flu-like symptoms and can sometimes progress to “severe dengue,” formally known as “hemorrhagic fever.” First identified in the 1950s, today it is known to majorly affect Asian and Latin American countries. Severe dengue is a leading cause of death and hospitalization in these areas. Dengue thrives in poorer urban and suburban areas but has been documented in wealthier tropical and subtropical countries, as well (“WHO | What is dengue?,” n.d.).

Our team is focused on the effects of dengue specifically in Yemen. Located on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has become plagued by dengue fever for several reasons. First and foremost, Yemen’s climate, which includes a prolonged rainy season, results in standing water – a favorite breeding spot for mosquitos (Maged Ahmed Al-garadi, 2015). Additionally, Yemen has been plagued by civil war since 2015, perpetuating the country’s poor infrastructure (Yemen country profile, 2019). The war has forced Yemen to funnel resources into other areas, neglecting to effectively monitor and control the spread of the virus. The inherently poor population of Yemen lacks the knowledge of how to combat and treat dengue (Maged Ahmed Al-garadi, 2015). Many communities have poor sanitation practices, perpetuating the spread of dengue.

As a team, we determined five problems present in Yemen that tie into the country’s dengue pandemic. One issue is the lack of vector prevention mechanisms. The WHO adopted a 5-year plan to increase the “preparedness and response activities for dengue fever prevention and control,” but their efforts are primarily focused on increasing and strengthening surveillance and detection. Just a small element of their efforts focus on vector-control through insecticide spraying (“WHO EMRO | WHO develops national strategy for dengue prevention and control | Yemen-news | Yemen,” n.d.). The Yemeni government is presently enveloped in civil war and gives little attention to providing its population prevention mechanisms.

A second issue present in Yemen is poor water infrastructure, particularly regarding water storage. Ongoing war has led to a “breakdown in safe water supply and sanitation services” (Shadoul & Taha, 2015). This poor infrastructure results in water shortages, forcing many residents to store water in open containers in and around the home, leading to the gathering of mosquitoes (“Drinking water systems under repeated continuous attack in Yemen [EN/AR] – Yemen,” n.d.). A third issue concerns the sanitation conditions present in Yemen. Again, due to civil war, conditions in Yemeni cities are poor. Mounds of uncollected garbage line the streets. This trash, combined with untreated sewage and the Arabian heat, has created the perfect storm for dengue-carrying mosquitoes to flourish (Burki, 2016).

A fourth issue plaguing the population of Yemen is indoor air pollution. Domestic use of biomass fuels increases the amount of indoor air pollution and heat in a household and structure. As a result, we hypothesized that the warmer climate in the house would attract mosquitoes, which thus increases the potential of any inhabitants to be infected with dengue. However, the article written by Biran, Smith, Lines, Ensink, and Cameron indicates that the resulting smoke and smog from burning biomass acts as a natural repellant of mosquitoes.

Our final issue of note, briefly touched on previously, is that of open water containers. Open containers with standing water need to be scrubbed at least weekly to minimize mosquito breeding. Mosquito larvae attach to the sides of the container and can survive there without surrounding water for up to 8 months. As a result, just emptying the water will not stop the larvae from hatching and maturing and later infecting inhabitants with dengue (“Zika, Mosquitoes, and Standing Water | | Blogs | CDC,” n.d.).

After concluding our preliminary research on these five issues, we came together to narrow the list down to a single issue. We created a decision matrix to help with this process.

Problem Decision Matrix

 Protection MechanismsWater StorageSanitationIndoor Air PollutionStanding Water
(1) Prior Knowledge52553
(2) Ease of Research52312
(3) Significance53415
(4) Control52152
Totals5023273030

We chose four determining factors on which to rank each issue: our prior knowledge, ease of research, significance (or “does it matter?”), and control (or “can it even be done?”). We first gave weights to these factors, with four being most important and one being least important. Using a scale (from 1 to 5), we then went item by item, ranking each of the five issues on every factor. For example, our research found that indoor air pollution has very little impact on the high occurrence of dengue in Yemen; thus, it received the lowest significance rating. Standing water, on the other hand, proved to be a major contributor to high mosquito populations, so it received the highest significance rating.

As can be seen in our Totals column, the issue of lacking protection mechanisms stood out as the front-runner, receiving a rank of 5 in each category. Our prior knowledge of the subject is relatively high, having personal experience with various tools  such as mosquito nets, preventative clothing, and insecticide sprays. This issue is relatively easy to research, as documentation on the matter appears to be abundant. The lack of protection mechanisms available to the Yemeni population carries a high significance in regard to the rising count of residents contracting dengue. Finally, this issue can be “controlled,” or at least lessened. Moving forward, our team will focus on developing several practical engineering-based solutions to address this problem.

References:

Biran, A., Smith, L., Lines, J., Ensink, J., & Cameron, M. (2007). Smoke and malaria: are interventions to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution likely to increase exposure to mosquitoes? Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 101(11), 1065–1071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trstmh.2007.07.010

Burki, T. (2016). Yemen’s neglected health and humanitarian crisis. The Lancet, 387(10020), 734–735. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00389-5

Drinking water systems under repeated continuous attack in Yemen [EN/AR] – Yemen. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from ReliefWeb website: https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/drinking-water-systems-under-repeated-continuous-attack-yemen-enar

Maged Ahmed Al-garadi, د. م. ا. ا. (2015). Epidemiological review of dengue fever in Yemen. International Journal of Advanced Research, 3, 1578–1584.

Shadoul, A., Taha, A. (2015). Yemen Conflict Report. WHO. Retrieved from http://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/yemen/WHO_Yemen_sitrep_no8_7_June_2015.pdf

WHO | What is dengue? (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from WHO website: http://www.who.int/denguecontrol/disease/en/

WHO EMRO | WHO develops national strategy for dengue prevention and control | Yemen-news | Yemen. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from http://www.emro.who.int/yem/yemen-news/who-develops-national-strategy-for-dengue-prevention-and-control.html

Yemen country profile. (2019, February 18). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14704852

Zika, Mosquitoes, and Standing Water | | Blogs | CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from https://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2016/03/zikaandwater/

Presence of Vector Prevention Mechanisms in Yemen

According to the WHO, the two most successful vector control methods are insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) (“WHO | Global report on insecticide resistance in malaria vectors: 2010–2016,” n.d.). UNICEF is the world’s top buyer of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) which require no further treatment during the net’s lifespan (“Mosquito nets | Supplies and Logistics | UNICEF,” n.d.). A study done by the WHO determined that the presence of a mosquito net at all – regardless of whether or not it had been treated with insecticides – significantly lowered infection rates. Something to note, however, is that treated nets have the ability to kill mosquitos as well as keep them out, thus increasing their efficacy (“WHO | Five-year WHO investigation shows that LLINs remain a highly effective tool in the malaria fight,” n.d.). Current vector-prevention practices being implemented in Yemen by the WHO fail to include ITNs or LLINs, with prevention and control focusing on surveillance and early warning systems (“WHO EMRO | WHO develops national strategy for dengue prevention and control | Yemen-news | Yemen,” n.d.).

 

Sources:

Mosquito nets | Supplies and Logistics | UNICEF. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from https://www.unicef.org/supply/index_39977.html

WHO | Five-year WHO investigation shows that LLINs remain a highly effective tool in the malaria fight. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from https://www.who.int/malaria/news/2016/llins-effective-tool-malaria-fight/en/

WHO | Global report on insecticide resistance in malaria vectors: 2010–2016. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from https://www.who.int/malaria/publications/atoz/9789241514057/en/

WHO EMRO | WHO develops national strategy for dengue prevention and control | Yemen-news | Yemen. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from http://www.emro.who.int/yem/yemen-news/who-develops-national-strategy-for-dengue-prevention-and-control.html

Open Water Containers and Mosquitoes

The following cdc is written in regard to zika, mosquitoes, and standing water. I found it was helpful for background knowledge, but also for targeting sanitation problems and what systems could be built to distribute safe water. https://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2016/03/zikaandwater/

  • Some of the most important points:
    • Open Containers with standing water need to be scrubbed at least weekly as mosquitoes’ larvae will attach to the sides of the dishes, they can survive without water around them for up to 8 months, and they will hatch in standing water and mature into a mosquito in the course of a week. As a result, just emptying the water will not stop the larvae from hatching and maturing and later infecting inhabitants with dengue, in the case of Yemen.
    • What papers mean by distribution of safe water:
      • If community-wide distribution systems are built, pluming systems, then it decreases the need to store water close to the home and around their homes. Thus decreasing the number of mosquitoes as water is not being stored near areas where people live.
    • Sanitation
      • When water is contaminated with organic matter it increase the amount of mosquito larvae and if it will increase. Sanitation depts. And wastewater treatment plants remove the organic waste, treating water with chlorine and other disinfectants which can decrease mosquito presence.
      • WASH protocol is critical to promote health.
  • https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/resources/vectorcontrolsheetdengue.pdf
  • Semi-helpful:

Indoor Air Pollution and Correlation to Mosquitoes

 

  • One of the potential problems that my group has hypothesized is the matter of indoor air pollution and it’s potential correlation with mosquitoes. Domestic use of biomass fuels increases the amount of indoor air pollution in a household and structure, it also increases the heat of the structure. As a result, we hypothesized that the warmer climate in the house would attract mosquitoes, which thus increases the potential of any inhabitants to be infected with dengue. However, the article written by Biran, Smith, Lines, Ensink, and Cameron focuses on repellent effect of smoke on mosquitoes, specifically carrying malaria. Although this article regard malaria-infected mosquitoes. It can still be used to display the possibility of the indoor air pollution actually decreasing the risk of being stung by mosquitoes as the smoke, and later smog, that is in the house actually acts as a natural repellent to mosquitoes. In fact, the article also reviews literature speaking of “house ventilation and mosquito entry” and shows that “ [an] increased indoor mosquito density was noted”.
  • Although the smoke may act as a natural repellent to the mosquitoes, this does not discredit or minimize the health concerns created by indoor air pollution.
  • Citation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17888474

 

Sanitation Conditions in Yemen

Yemen has been suffering from a decade of civil war. Environmental pollution, shortage of clean water, electricity power outage, and Dengue disease strikes Yemen population. Thousands of people have been diagnosed with Dengue fever in Southern Yemen, where fighting has raged for months between Shi-ite  rebels and their opponents, International Organizations and health officials said last Thursday.The top health ministry official in the southern port city of Aden, Al-Khadr al-Aswar, told The Association Press that at lease 5,000 people have been diagnosed with the mosquito-borne virus disease, Dengue fever. He said that mounts of uncollected garbage in towns and cities, along with untreated sewage and heat, have contributed to the spread of the Dengue Fever disease. Poor sanitation conditions resulting from inadequate clean up technology and resources to clean up garbages, dirts, sewages, and stagnant filthy water in cities, towns and villages have contributed to the outbreak of the Dengue fever disease. Shortage of clean drinking water in the country enables many citizens to rely on drinking water sources from untreated irrigation systems. Unsafe and poor management of sanitation system in Yemen has contributed to mass environmental air and water pollution and poor health conditions. According to the Minister of health in Yemen, “The sanitation conditions in Yemen is severely bad and it will take a long period of time for the country to improve it.”—–WHO Report.

Sources:

Burki, Talha. 2016. Yemen’s neglected health and humanitarian crisis. The Lancet,, london. 387(10020); 734–735.

 

Water Storage Infrastructure in Yemen

Climate of Yemen can be described as subtropical dry, hot desert climate with low annual rainfall so collecting water is very important. However, the poor infrastructure can lead to dengue fever as mosquitoes gather by the water and will in turn spread dengue fever to those near the water source.

According to Shadoul et al. (2015), dengue fever occurs during seasonal patterns with high number of cases occurring between April and August. Furthermore, they also claim that “storing water in open containers in households due to water shortages and insecurity was identified as a contributing factor to this increase.” (Shadoul & Taha, 2015).

It is important to note that due to ongoing war with Saudi Arabia and the United States, there are reduced health services and a “breakdown in safe water supply and sanitation services” which has further increased the spread of dengue fever. (Shadoul & Taha, 2015)

Due to this war infrastructure is getting destroyed and people do not have a choice but to store water in their home. For example, according to a statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore in 2018, “escalation in the targeting of systems and facilities that are essential to sustaining the lives of children and families…. warehouse containing humanitarian provisions, including hygiene and water-related supplies, was hit by two air strikes.” (Fore, 2018)

Thus, we need to find a way to stop the spread of the mosquitoes rather than build better water system at a time of such great instability.

Sources:

Shadoul, A., Taha, A. (2015). Yemen Conflict Report. WHO. Retrieved from http://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/yemen/WHO_Yemen_sitrep_no8_7_June_2015.pdf

Fore, H. H. (2018). Drinking water systems under repeated continuous attack in Yemen. UN Children’s Fund. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/drinking-water-systems-under-repeated-continuous-attack-yemen-enar