Dengue seroprevalence and intervention studies

Sustainable, healthy cities: a cluster randomized controlled trial for Aedes control in Brazil (2018-2020)

A mixed methods cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) was started in Fortaleza, Brazil, to measure the effectiveness of community mobilization in reducing dengue incidence in children. The aim of this project was to determine if an EcoHealth intervention based upon community mobilization reduces the risk of dengue virus infection among 2 to 12 year olds compared to usual dengue control practice in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Additionally, a series of implementation science evaluations were embedded within the CRT to allow us to understand how the intervention brings about sustainable change, the influence of context on the intervention, and the potential for transferability and scaling up.

In 2020, as the baseline data collection was underway, the study was forced to be stopped due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this disruption and challenges faced with instability in the field, we made the decision to end the study in Fortaleza and identify a new site for the cRCT.

Funding by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Reconstitution of the cluster randomized controlled trial for Aedes control in Dhaka, Bangladesh (2023-2027)

The cRCT to measure the effectiveness of community mobilization in reducing dengue incidence in children is now being implemented in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 2023-2024, we conducted a pilot study to adapt our study materials and protocol to the new site, and we began data collection for the cRCT in early 2025. The project aim remains the same: to determine if an EcoHealth intervention based upon community mobilization reduces the risk of dengue virus infection among 2 to 12 years olds compared to usual dengue control practice. Implementation science evaluations will allow us to understand how the intervention brings about sustainable change, the influence of context on the intervention, and the potential for transferability and scaling up.

The baseline data collection of questionnaires and finger prick blood samples for the study is being completed in May 2025, with entomological (adult mosquito) assessment to follow in June-July 2025. The next phase of the study will include the development and implementation of interventions in 34 randomly selected study clusters, followed by an endline phase of data collection.

The study is being implemented in partnership with Co-Investigators Malay Kanti Mridha of the BRAC University James P. Grant School of Public Health, and Mohammad Shafiul Alam of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b).

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