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Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are the most important mosquito vectors of dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus. There is growing interest in the control of these vectors using the sterile insect technique in which large numbers of sterilized males are released and compete with wild fertile males for mates. Females that mate with sterile males do not produce viable offspring. A study was performed on the population fluctuations of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus using egg traps in two rural villages with a history of dengue in Chiapas, southern Mexico. Higher numbers of Aedes eggs were recorded in Hidalgo village compared with the village of Río Florido. In contrast, higher number of eggs were collected in areas surrounding Río Florido, compared with those around Hidalgo. Aedes aegypti was the dominant species during the dry season and at the start of the rainy season in both villages. Aedes albopictus populations were lower for most of the dry season, but increased during the rainy season and became dominant at the end of the rainy season in both villages. Aedes albopictus was also the dominant species in the zones of natural vegetation surrounding both villages. We conclude that the efficacy of a program of vector control involving the sterile insect technique could be evaluated in future studies on the isolated mosquito populations in these rural villages, in combination with habitat elimination and appropriate treatment of water sources.

Indoor and outdoor ovitraps were placed in 15 randomly selected houses in two rural villages in Chiapas, southern Mexico. In addition, ovitraps …