Abstract

MONDELO, Rolando Esteban; TEJERINA, Edmundo Fabricio; GAUTO, Neris Javier  and  HERNANDEZ CONTRERAS, Natividad. Use of a drainage membrane to prevent accumulation of water and the creation of potential breeding sites for Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus 1762) (Diptera: Culicidae) in disposable pneumatic tires. Rev Cubana Med Trop [online]. 2014, vol.66, n.2, pp. 210-218. ISSN 0375-0760.

Introduction: due to their characteristics, pneumatic tires may be effective recurrent breeding sites for the development of juvenile stages of Aedes aegypti, the main dengue vector in the region. Objective: evaluate the usefulness of a membrane as a drainage system in disposable pneumatic tires to prevent accumulation of water and the consequent development of preadult stages of Aedes aegypti. Methods: the study was conducted at the Medical Entomology Laboratory in Posadas, Misiones, Argentina from April to May 2012. Eight discarded pneumatic tires of similar characteristics were selected. The 8 tires were divided into two subgroups: horizontal (HP) and vertical (VP), and numbered from 1 to 4 for identification. 1 500 ml of water were poured into each tire. A non-woven Ballerina^TM CIF absorbent cloth was placed in containers 1 to 3 of each subgroup. Drainage membranes were not placed in the remaining tires, identified with the number 4, which were used as controls. Water volume was gauged every 24 hours during the first 5 days of the study, and every 48 hours from the 6^th day onwards, except for the control, which was checked every 24 hours throughout the experiment. Non-parametric analysis of variance was performed to compare water volume values in each position. Results: pneumatic tires 1, 2 and 3 of positions HP and VP showed statistically significant differences in water content with respect to their respective controls. No statistical difference was found between the water content in pneumatic tires placed in vertical and horizontal positions. The volume of water eliminated by spontaneous evaporation in control pneumatic tires was 4.16 ml every 24 hours with no significant differences between them. A total 1 495.84 ml remained, sufficient for the development of aquatic stages of mosquito development. Conclusions: the use of absorbent membranes in disposable pneumatic tires proved to be an effective water drainage method, contributing to prevent the creation of Aedes aegypti breeding sites.

Keywords : pneumatic tires; Aedes aegypti; Posadas; Argentina.

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