The Camino Verde trial of community mobilisation for control of dengue reported a significant impact on entomological indices of the Aedes aegypti vector , and on serological dengue virus infection and self-reported dengue cases .
One reason for doing r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) is that experiments can be convincing .
Early epidemiological experimenters , such as Jenner and the smallpox vaccine and Snow and his famous Broad Street pump h and le , already knew the answer they were demonstrating ; they used the experiments as knowledge translation devices to convince others .
More sophisticated modern experiments include cluster r and omised controlled trials ( C RCTs ) for experiments in the public health setting .
Those who are convinced by a trial and want to act , need to know how the trial relates to their own context , what contributed to success , and what might make it even more effective .
Pupal productivity in rainy and dry seasons: findings from the impact survey of a randomised controlled trial of dengue prevention in Guerrero, Mexico
Background The follow-up survey of a cluster-r and omised controlled trial of evidence -based community mobilisation for dengue control in Nicaragua and Mexico included entomological information from the 2012 rainy and dry seasons . We used data from the Mexican arm of the trial to assess the impact of the community action on pupal production of the dengue vector Aedes aegypti in both rainy and dry seasons . Methods Trained field workers  inspected household water containers in 90 clusters and collected any pupae or larvae present for entomological examination . We calculated indices of pupae per person and pupae per household , and traditional entomological indices of container index , household index and Breteau index , and compared these between rainy and dry seasons and between intervention and control clusters , using a cluster t-test to test significance of differences . Results In 11,933 houses in the rainy season , we inspected 40,323 containers and found 7070 Aedes aegypti pupae . In the dry season , we inspected 43,461 containers and counted 6552 pupae . All pupae and entomological indices were lower in the intervention clusters ( IC ) than in control clusters ( CC ) in both the rainy season ( RS ) and the dry season ( DS ) : pupae per container 0.12 IC and 0.24 CC in RS , and 0.10 IC and 0.20 CC in DS ; pupae per household 0.46 IC and 0.82 CC in RS , and 0.41 IC and 0.83 CC in DS ; pupae per person 0.11 IC and 0.19 CC in RS , and 0.10 IC and 0.20 CC in DS ; household index 16 % IC and 21 % CC in RS , and 12.1 % IC and 17.9 % CC in DS ; container index 7.5 % IC and 11.5 % CC in RS , and 4.6 % IC and 7.1 % CC in DS ; Breteau index 27 % IC and 36 % CC in RS , and 19 % IC and 29 % CC in DS . All differences between the intervention and control clusters were statistically significant , taking into account clustering . Conclusions The trial intervention led to significant decreases in pupal and conventional entomological indices in both rainy and dry seasons . Trial registration IS RCT N27581154
The Camino Verde trial of community mobilisation for control of dengue reported a significant impact on entomological indices of the Aedes aegypti vector , and on serological dengue virus infection and self-reported dengue cases .
One reason for doing r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) is that experiments can be convincing .
Early epidemiological experimenters , such as Jenner and the smallpox vaccine and Snow and his famous Broad Street pump h and le , already knew the answer they were demonstrating ; they used the experiments as knowledge translation devices to convince others .
More sophisticated modern experiments include cluster r and omised controlled trials ( C RCTs ) for experiments in the public health setting .
Those who are convinced by a trial and want to act , need to know how the trial relates to their own context , what contributed to success , and what might make it even more effective .