Dengue Vector Control in High-income, City Settings: A Scoping Review of Approaches and Methods

Background: Dengue virus (DENV) is endemic to many parts of the world and has serious health and socioeconomic effects even in high-income countries, especially with rapid changes in the climate globally. We explored the literature on dengue vector control methods used in high-income, city settings and associations with dengue incidence, dengue prevalence, or mosquito vector densities.

Methods: Studies of any design or year were included if they reported effects on human DENV infection or Aedes vector indices of dengue-specific vector control interventions in high-income, city settings.

Results: Of 24 eligible sources, most reported research in the United States (n = 8) or Australia (n = 5). Biocontrol (n = 12) and chemical control (n = 13) were the most frequently discussed vector control methods. Only 6 sources reported data on the effectiveness of a given method in reducing human DENV incidence or prevalence, 2 described effects of larval and adult control on Aedes DENV positivity, 20 reported effectiveness in reducing vector density, using insecticide, larvicide, source reduction, auto-dissemination of pyriproxyfen and Wolbachia, and only 1 described effects on human-vector contact.

Conclusions: As most studies reported reductions in vector densities, rather than any effects on human DENV incidence or prevalence, we can draw no clear conclusions on which interventions might be most effective in reducing dengue in high-income, city areas. More research is needed linking evidence on the effects of different DENV vector control methods with dengue incidence/prevalence or mosquito vector densities in high-income, city settings as this is likely to differ from low-income settings. This is a significant evidence gap as climate changes increase the global reach of DENV. The importance of community involvement was clear in several studies, although it is impossible to tease out the relative contributions of this from other control methods used.