Aedes aegypti
and
Ae. albopictus are vectors of dengue viruses, which cause endemic disease in the city of Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, Brazil. More than 53 thousand cases have been registered in this city since the first epidemic in 1998. We evaluated the hypothesis that different ecological conditions result in different patterns of vector infestation in Manaus, by measuring the infestation level in four neighborhoods with different urbanization patterns, during the rainy (April), dry (August), and transitional (November) seasons.
Ae. aegypti predominated throughout the study areas and sampling periods, representing 86% of all specimens collected in oviposition traps. High frequencies of houses positive for both species were observed in all studied sites, with
Ae. aegypti present in more than 84% of the houses in all seasons.
Ae. albopictus, on the other hand, showed more spatial and temporal variation in abundance. We found no association between infestation level and house traits. This study highlights the homogeneity of dengue vector distribution in Manaus.
