Assessment of Trinidad community stakeholder perspectives on the use of yeast interfering RNA-baited ovitraps for biorational control of Aedes mosquitoes

Abstract

Dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever viruses continue to be a major public health burden. Aedes mosquitoes, the primary vectors responsible for transmitting these viral pathogens, continue to flourish due to local challenges in vector control management. Yeast interfering RNA-baited larval lethal ovitraps are being developed as a novel biorational control tool for Aedes mosquitoes. This intervention circumvents increasing issues with insecticide resistance and poses no known threat to non-target organisms. In an effort to create public awareness of this alternative vector control strategy, gain stakeholder feedback regarding product design and acceptance of the new intervention, and build capacity for its potential integration into existing mosquito control programs, this investigation pursued community stakeholder engagement activities, which were undertaken in Trinidad and Tobago. Three forms of assessment, including paper surveys, community forums, and household interviews, were used with the goal of evaluating local community stakeholders’ knowledge of mosquitoes, vector control practices, and perceptions of the new technology. These activities facilitated evaluation of the hypothesis that the ovitraps would be broadly accepted by community stakeholders as a means of biorational control for Aedes mosquitoes. A comparison of the types of stakeholder input communicated through use of the three assessment tools highlighted the utility and merit of using each tool for assessing new global health interventions. Most study participants reported a general willingness to purchase an ovitrap on condition that it would be affordable and safe for human health and the environment. Stakeholders provided valuable input on product design, distribution, and operation. A need for educational campaigns that provide a mechanism for educating stakeholders about vector ecology and management was highlighted. The results of the investigation, which are likely applicable to many other Caribbean nations and other countries with heavy arboviral disease burdens, were supportive of supplementation of existing vector control strategies through the use of the yeast RNAi-based ovitraps.