P-22 - Baseline Aedes surveillance on Kwajalein Atoll, The Republic of Marshall Islands

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

12:15 PM – 1:45 PM AST

Location: Hall A

Abstract: Aedes vectors continue to pose significant health risks in the Pacific Region. In the last decade, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has experienced outbreaks of Chikungunya (2015), Zika (2017), and Dengue fever (2021). The RMI-Ministry of Health and Human Services has established a robust vector surveillance program to support vector control activities in the area. We present the 2022-2024 longitudinal entomological survey results using BG-Sentinel traps and ovitraps on Ebeye Islet and the adjacent northern islets of Kwajalein Atoll. Both Ae. aegypti and Aedes albopictus were collected, with a high prevalence of Ae. aegypti across Ebeye. We also present the results of a container survey on the Ebeye islet with key container breeding sites, including cisterns, barrels, and buckets. Our findings highlight the urgent need to control Ae. aegypti to reduce the risk of arbovirus transmission in the RMI.

Presenter(s)

EC

Erlynda Chutaro

Chief of Environmental Health
Republic of the Marshall Islands, Ministry of Health and Human Services, Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands

Co-Author(s)

CJ

Calvin Juda

Environmental Health Officer
Republic of the Marshall Islands, Ministry of Health and Human Services, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands
FW

Francyne Wase-Jacklick

Secretary of Health
Republic of the Marshall Islands, Ministry of Health and Human Services, Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands
TB

Tamara Buhagiar

Project Manager
Pacific Island Health Officers Association, Queensland, Australia
SL

Saul Lozano, PhD

CDC, Colorado, United States
AD

Anna Drexler, PhD

CDC, Colorado, United States
LH

Limb K. Hapairai

Regional Medical Entomologist
Pacific Island Health Officers Association, Hawaii, United States