Enhancing the CDC Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap to control dengue vectors.

Phase I SBIR proposals will be accepted. Fast-track proposals will not be accepted. Phase I clinical trials will not be accepted. Number of anticipated awards: 1 Budget (total costs): Phase I up to $243,500 for up to 6 months; Phase II of up to $2,045,816 and a Phase II duration of up to 2 years PROPOSALS THAT EXCEED THE BUDGET OR PROJECT DURATION LISTED ABOVE MAY NOT BE FUNDED. Background: Dengue is an increasing public health threat with outbreaks occurring globally, including in US territories. Traditional vector control methods have limited impact due to widespread insecticide resistance and resource intensive and unsustainable community engagement and source reduction. CDC developed, tested, and patented the Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap for the surveillance and control of Aedes aegypti, the main mosquito vector of dengue and other arboviruses (Barrera et al. 2024). This trap captures mosquitoes by means of a special sticky glue. It does not use insecticides. CDC produced evidence showing how useful AGO traps are for the surveillance and effective control of this vector (Barrera et al. 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020). A previous SBIR took the trap prototype to a mass production product that was commercialized. Mass trapping with AGO traps reduces the abundance of Ae. aegypti populations. A count of 3 or fewer mosquitoes per trap has been proposed as a threshold to reduce transmission of arboviruses in Puerto Rico. In neighborhoods with 2 to 3 traps per house in 80% of the houses, mosquito counts were maintained below the threshold. The AGO traps have been shown to reduce chikungunya transmission, Zika transmission, and mosquitoes infected with dengue (Sharp et al. 2019; CDC unpublished). AGO traps need to be serviced every 2-3 months to replace water, attractant (a small pack of regular hay grass that decomposes in the water), and a sticky board, and where mosquitoes are caught when they land inside the trap chamber to lay their eggs. When thousands of these traps are deployed in communities for the area-wide control of Ae. aegypti, many operators are needed to complete the maintenance cycle. To involve the community in servicing the traps, it would be required the trap to be easily and quickly maintained by residents. The trap could be improved by 1- producing a disposable capture chamber that residents could easily replace, as opposed to the current model that requires handling the sticky board with the dead mosquitoes and stripping away the rest of glue, 2- ideally, replacing by hay pack with a synthetic attractant that would last 2-3 months, and 3- producing an effective sticky glue. The latter is important since the current sticky glue is produced by just one company, and it is a major limitation for the use of AGO traps because of its limited production and distribution.