[Capture of culicids in urban areas: evaluation of the resting box method].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the occurrence of adult culicid populations in urban areas and measure the sensitivity of the resting box collection method.


METHODS
Mosquito were collected in 1999 and 2000, in two cities in the State of São Paulo, Brazil: Ocauçu and Uchoa. In each city, 15 blocks were drawn by lots and then one home in each block was drawn. Two resting boxes were installed at each home: one inside and the other outside the house. Monthly collections were carried out at each home, over a 13-month period, using manual aspirators inside and outside the home and inside the boxes. The captured specimens were taken to the laboratory for screening and identification according to species and sex.


RESULTS
Out of the 2,112 culicid specimens collected, 99.7% were of four species: Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, Cx. declarator and Cx. coronator. The distribution of these species in Ocauçu was 83.3%, 3.2%, 10.8% and 24%, respectively, and in Uchoa it was 83.8%, 8.4%, 4.4% and 3.0%, respectively. Among the females of the genus Culex, 34.3% were captured in the resting boxes and 59.9% were collected from inside the house. Among the females of Ae. aegypti, 17.6% were found in the resting boxes and 82.4% inside the home.


CONCLUSIONS
The great majority of the specimens collected belonged to four species of culicids, and Cx. quinquefasciatus was the most common. Proportionally, the females of Ae. aegypti were found more inside the home than were those of the genus Culex. Resting boxes present potential for use as surveillance devices, but their use needs to be more thoroughly evaluated.
Barata
Eudina Agar Miranda de Freitas
EA
Divisão de Programas Especiais, Superintendência de Controle de Endemias, Secretaria Estadual de Saúde de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Chiaravalloti Neto
Francisco
F
Dibo
Margareth Regina
MR
Macoris
Maria de Lourdes G
Mde L
Barbosa
Angelita Anália C
AA
Natal
Delsio
D
Barata
José Maria Soares
JM
Andriguetti
Maria Teresa Macoris
MT
D000330:Aedes / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D003465:Culex / Q000254:growth & development; D009033:Culicidae / Q000254:growth & development*; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000254:growth & development*; D008297:Male; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011156:Population Density; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014505:Urban Population