High performance traps to capture Zika virus, Dengue and Chikungunya vector for household and public health

• Grant number: 16/06105-7
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: June 01, 2017
• End date: December 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Agreement: FINEP - PIPE/PAPPE Grant
• Principal Investigator: Mario Yacoara de Menezes Neto
• Grantee: Mario Yacoara de Menezes Neto
• Company: Bio Controle Métodos de Controle de Pragas Ltda
• City: São Paulo
• Pesquisadores principais: Ari Gitz ; Fabio Silber Schmidt ; Fernanda de Oliveira
• Associated researchers: Lizandra Alexa de Carvalho
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/23200-9 - High performance traps to capture Zika Virus, Dengue and Chikungunya vector for household and public health, BP.TT

Abstract

The control of Aedes aegypti in Brazil has been carried out by local, State and Federal programs, but leaving a big responsibility and guilt for the population because according to the Ministry of Health, the proliferation of the mosquito occurs in household breeding (eg. potted plants, water tanks, and any container that collects water). In Brazil, the control of Aedes occurs only by old methods consisting of breeding removal (eggs, larvae and pupae) and of insecticides applications (larvicide and adulticide), while it is expected the population to remove breeding sites from home and use repellents for personal protection. Unfortunately, in Brazilian Market, there is no specific trap to capture and eliminate the mosquito. These traps could be used by professional vector control companies, in homes, hospitals and business centers. In 2014, the GAT trap (Gravid Aedes TRAP) developed to capture females Aedes aegypti and patented by UFMG, also had a commercial version (the BG-GAT) licensed by BioGents Company (Germany), that currently sells the trap in Asian countries and Australia. Therefore, we intend to introduce and produce for Brazilian market, a professional and specific trap to control Aedes, mainly to capture host-seeking females. The main goal of this project is to develop new prototypes from the GAT, for the industrial large-scale production of the new Bio-GAT trap for the national market, especially for vector control professionals. Bio-GAT's name is because the trap does not use insecticides or toxic agents, becoming a biological trap and it suits to Bio Controle's work proposal to work with environment-friendly products. Aiming to use the trap as an alternative tool to control Zika, a new Brazilian trap design will be developed to improve its performance and increase its market acceptance. Oviposition attractants (to increase the efficiency of the trap) and adhesive strips (tov retain mosquitoes inside the trap) will also be used and modified from Brazilian existing products. Tests with the Bio-GAT will be carried out in laboratory conditions, semi-field and field (urban) with other existing commercial traps in other countries (eg BG Sentinel trap), to compare the new national product efficiency. To keep the quality of the product that will be launched in the Brazilian and possibly international market, it will be developed the methods of the quality tests of all products and raw materials. The Bio-GAT technology will be afterwards transferred from UFMG to Bio Controle. It will be conducted a marketing analysis of the development and production of the trap, in order to meet the production, transportation and logistics costs, in addition to the customer perception. The project ends at the very beginning of the production phase for commercial purposes. (AU)