Transmitted by day biting, invasive Aedes mosquitoes who prefer human targets, dengue is a life-threatening disease that continues to be neglected, although its presence has increased over six folds since 2000.  In sub-Saharan Africa Aedes control programmes are either inexistent or mainly follow a top down approach with sporadic insecticide spray campaigns targeting adult mosquitoes. These interventions have only a very limited, short-term impact and are environmentally not sustainable since Aedes mosquitoes breed in small water containers that are ubiquitous in urban areas. Therefore, targeting the juvenile stages of their development is more promising, while requiring the active support of the affected communities.

The current project aims to mobilise and engage local residents in the sustainable control of Aedes mosquitoes by removal of potential larval breeding sites and trapping egg-laying females.

It seeks to answer two main research questions

• What is the Aedes ecology and, related, people’s knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and practice?
• How would an efficient participatory, community based intervention in relation to this challenge look like?

The research methods include collecting baseline data to assess the association between housing, human behaviour and mosquito habitat suitability through surveys and mosquito collections in Abidjan, the largest city of Côte d’Ivoire, which has recently experienced multiple dengue outbreaks. In consultation with local residents, the researchers will design a community-based intervention to reduce Aedes breeding sites. To test whether the intervention in this African context reduces mosquito densities, the process involves implementing a cluster randomised trial over the course of a whole year. The trial will also test whether mass trapping with simple traps targeting egg-laying females adds to the effectiveness of the larval source management.

The key outcome of this project are clear policy recommendations for the control of Aedes-borne arboviruses with community mobilisation in urban sub-Saharan Africa.