CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The objective of this study was to analyze the spatio-temporal patterns of Aedes aegypti immatures basedon four entomological surveys that inspected over 6000 households in a large neighborhood of the city ofClorinda between 2007 and 2008. Global and local spatial point pattern analyses of immature presence orabsence, habitat quality (estimated using a previously obtained statistical model) and pupal productionwere performed. Global analyses showed aggregation of both infestation and habitat quality up to 10times bigger than previously described, ranging from 150 to 400 m between surveys. Pupal productionwas also clustered but at smaller scales than infestation presence/absence. The location of the clusters wastemporally unstable between surveys. There was no spatial structure related to the control strategy; lotstreated with temephos and lots uninspected (i.e., closed or refusing) were randomly distributed. Theseresults suggest a combination of exogenous (the aggregation of better quality habitats) and endogenous(dispersal) processes explaining the observed patterns of larger-scale infestation. A spatial targetingstrategy at the neighborhood scale would not be as cost-effective in Clorinda as in other sites wherestable smaller-scale clusters permit the identification of key premises.