Successes and failures of sixty years of vector control in French Guiana: what is the next step?

Abstract

Since the 1940s, French Guiana has implemented vector control to contain or eliminate malaria, yellow fever, and, recently, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. Over time, strategies have evolved depending on the location, efficacy of the methods, development of insecticide resistance, and advances in vector control techniques. This review summarises the history of vector control in French Guiana by reporting the records found in the private archives of the Institute Pasteur in French Guiana and those accessible in libraries worldwide. This publication highlights successes and failures in vector control and identifies the constraints and expectations for vector control in this French overseas territory in the Americas.

Fig. 1. : map of French Guiana with the main human settlements and main towns. Rivers and current roads are shown.

Fig. 2. : chronology of insecticide use in French Guiana and bioassays of Aedes aegypti. Green represents organochlorines DDT, HCH-Gamma, and dieldrin from dark to light; orange represents organophosphorus: malathion, fenthion, fenitrothion, and temephos from dark to light; blue represents deltamethrin. Squares represent adult tests, circles represent larval testing, dark is for susceptible and red for resistant based on protocols published by World Health Organization over the years.