Use of ovitraps for seasonal entomological surveillance of the arbovirus vector Aedes aegypti and some abiotic parameters influencing the distribution of this vector in the health district of Grand Lomé, Togo, West Africa

Abstract

This study aims at exploring the possibility of using ovitraps as a tool for effective Aedes mosquito surveillance in Togo.Ovitraps were deployed from May 2022 to March 2023 in houses in the 13 communes of the health district of Grand Lomé for Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs collection. An inter-seasonal comparison of the quantity of eggs collected was carried out using Student's t-test, and the influence of abiotic parameters was assessed using Spearman's correlation test. A total of 20,273 eggs exclusively of the Aedes aegypti species were collected. Entomological calculations indicate that there is a high risk of arbovirus transmission in the Grand Lomé health district. Spearman's correlation revealed that only rainfall had a positive and slightly significant influence on egg distribution (r = 0.3351; P = 0.0382). Ovitraps could therefore contribute to Aedes vector control in the health district grand lomé