Impact of large household waste collection on potential breeding sites for dengue-transmitting mosquitoes in Asunción, Paraguay

Abstract

Introduction: Recurrent dengue outbreaks underscore the need for more effective approaches to vector prevention and control. Often, interventions focus on a biomedical and health promotion approach from an individual approach, without integrating socioenvironmental factors or being scientifically evaluated.

Objetive: To evaluate the impact of large household waste collection on potential breeding sites of denguetransmitting mosquitoes in Asuncion, Paraguay during the years 2017 to 2021.

Material and methods: Quasi-experimental, longitudinal study, where 350 households were surveyed, as a baseline during 2017 and a closing line in 108 households in 2021. The Difference-in-Difference (DID) method was used to compare the presence of breeding sites before and after the intervention in 43 intervened and 65 nonintervened households.

Results: Differentiated collection was mainly used by those households that had a large amount of large solid waste, but not to dispose of all these objects, but only part of them (DID of -52% in the total number of breeding sites and DID of 1% in the number of households with breeding sites). We found a significant reduction in the total number of large breeding sites but did not observe differences in the total number of households with breeding sites. Subjective factors,

such as the belief that disused objects could become useful in the future, were largely responsible for the reduction in the number of large breeding sites.

Conclusions: The municipal management approach to bulky waste can contribute to dengue prevention because it does not constitute rapidly generated waste in households, and its disposal can have a relatively longlasting impact. The subjective factors related to the presence of these breeding sites in households warrant further study.