Tropical Medicine and International Health

volume 10 no 6 pp 597–603 june 2005

The Buen Pastor cemetery in Trujillo, Venezuela: measuring

dengue vector output from a public area
Mayumi Abe1, P. J. McCall1, Audrey Lenhart1, Elci Villegas2 and Axel Kroeger1,3

1 Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK

2 Universidad de los Andes, Trujillo, Venezuela
3 Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

Summary As vector control of dengue typically targets individual households to eliminate breeding sites or control
adult mosquitoes during epidemics, public spaces are frequently neglected. To investigate the importance
of such places as sources of dengue vectors, a study of Aedes aegypti productivity in a cemetery in
northern Venezuela, using standard entomological indices for assessing dengue vector infestations, was
carried out in the wet season in May 2003. Containers were found on 72.8% of graves; 44% of the
containers held water and in 46.9% of these we found A. aegypti larvae and/or pupae. The average
density of Aedes-infested containers was 39 per hectare. There were no significant differences in
infestation rates between container types (vases, planters or others) or materials (cement, plastic, glass,
etc.). Containers with 1–5 l of water held the greatest proportion of the pupae found in the cemetery
(46.7%); containers with <100 ml of water contained no pupae. The mean number of pupae produced in
the cemetery was estimated at 4185 pupae/ha per 48 h and the daily output of potential vector
mosquitoes from the entire cemetery was calculated at approximately 3000 females per day. These
mosquitoes presumably left the cemetery to feed in the nearby communities, thus thwarting the
environmental management and health education programmes that had reduced household dengue
vector infestations. The study shows the importance of public places as sources of dengue vectors in
urban areas, and the need to include such areas in vector control programmes.

keywords dengue, dengue haemorrhagic fever, urban, transmission, vector control, cemetery,
Venezuela, Aedes

(WHO 1999). Typically, measures are targeted at indi-

Introduction
Dengue fever is the most common vector-borne viral
disease of humans worldwide, with an estimated 50 million
infections occurring in tropical and subtropical regions
each year (WHO 2002). Dengue has been increasing its
range worldwide since the 1970s, and it occurs now on five
continents, with 2500 million people at risk of infection. In
the Americas, dengue and dengue haemorrhagic fever
(DHF) have increased since the early 1980s. In 2002 for
example, there were more than 1 million reported cases of
dengue in the region, 12 000 of which were DHF (WHO
2002; PAHO 2003). In Venezuela, epidemic outbreaks of
dengue have been recorded since 1978, most recently in
2001.
The main vector, Aedes aegypti, is a highly adapted
container-breeding mosquito that proliferates in urban
environments where refuse provides innumerable sites for
larval and pupal development. In the absence of an
effective vaccine, environmental management to reduce
breeding sites remains the principal control measure
vidual householders who are encouraged or held respon-
sible for elimination of mosquito larvae in any breeding
sites on their own property. Adult mosquito control by
insecticide space spraying usually also focuses on the intra-
and peri-domestic environments. Thus, public spaces like
plazas, civic and hospital gardens and cemeteries, where
suitable breeding sites may also be plentiful, are frequently
neglected.
To investigate the importance of such places as sources
of dengue vectors, we studied the A. aegypti productivity
of a cemetery in northern Venezuela, during a single
month using standard entomological indices. In many
ways, cemeteries represent ideal environments to
investigate a range of aspects of Aedes sp. ecology, as
they are easily accessible, harbour large numbers of
containers ranging in size and material and provide a
selection of habitats with varying degrees of suitability
for breeding. Studies on dengue vectors have been
conducted in cemeteries in Argentina (Vezzani et al.
2001; Vezzani & Schweigmann 2002), the Philippines

ª 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 597

Tropical Medicine and International Health
M. Abe et al. Aedes aegypti infestations in a Venezuelan cemetery
(Schultz 1989), the USA (O’Meara et al. 1992a,b) and
Venezuela (Barrera et al. 1979). Cemeteries are often
located very close to human habitations. Many
cemeteries that were once located at the outskirts of
town have, over time, been surrounded by crowded
residential areas and may have become important
breeding sites for dengue vectors, potentially supporting
vector population refugia during vector control cam-
paigns. Moreover, cemeteries often adjoin hospitals in
many parts of the world. O’Meara et al. (1992a)
investigated the role of cemeteries in Florida in the
spread of A. albopictus and found that it was established
in many cemeteries long before it was found in sites with
discarded car tyres. Clearly, cemeteries are important as
sources of dengue vectors. We investigated and attemp-
ted to quantify the vector output from one cemetery in
Venezuela.
Materials and methods
Study area
The fieldwork was carried out in Trujillo City, between
29 April and 23 May 2003. Trujillo City (population
49 000), the capital of Trujillo State in NW Venezuela,
is located on a northern outlier of the Cordillera de
Mérida in the Andes mountains, at 9
22¢ N, 70
26¢ W,
approximately 800 m above mean sea level. It has a
tropical climate with two rainy seasons a year (peaking
in April and October/November), and temperatures
ranging from 16 to 37
C. The dengue incidence rate
was estimated at 340.2 cases per 100 000 in 2001
(Trujillo State Ministry of Health 2002). The Buen
Pastor Cemetery is located in the centre of Santa Rosa,
an urban neighbourhood close to the city centre. A 3 m
high wall separates the cemetery from the surrounding
residential areas (Figure 1). The cemetery stretches over
442 m east–west and 147 m north–south (3.47 ha) on
the eastern base of a mountain. At the time of the study,
the cemetery administration office estimated the total
number of graves at 3000–4000. For the purposes of the
study, the cemetery was divided into three sectors,
designated A (6830 m2), B (8901 m2) and C (18 905 m2,
of which 3600 m2 were examined), totalling 19 330 m2.
Limited shade was provided by a few large trees that
were located mainly in sector B, with fewer in sector A
and virtually none in sector C, where little vegetation of
any kind was growing (Figure 1). Human activity was
generally uncommon, except on two major Christian
holidays: the Day of the Dead (El Dı́a de los Muertos,
1 November) and Mother’s Day (El Dı́a de la Madre, a
moveable holiday falling in April or May). Two water
598
volume 10 no 6 pp 597–603 june 2005
taps, located between sectors A and B, were available.
Meteorological data were provided by the Universidad de
los Andes (1.7 km from the cemetery).
Infestation levels
Surveys to assess the extent of larval, pupal and egg
infestation and of adult productivity were carried out daily
for 1 month. Every 10th grave was sampled and its
location was recorded using a handheld Global Positioning
System receiver (Magellan, CA, USA). Graves were allo-
cated a number and marked with labelled coloured tape.
Grave type was categorized as ‘monument’ (large polished
stone or cement structure), ‘common’ (rough cement con-
struction) or ‘ground’ type (without gravestone). Grave size
was classed as individual, double, triple, etc., according to
capacity. All containers on every grave sampled were
recorded according to function, water capacity and material
and were classified as follows: vases were any removable or
fixed container for holding cut flowers, made of cement,
metal, plastic or glass (volumes of 0.5–7.5 l); planters were
narrow cement, metal or stone containers fixed on the edge
of monument tombs, intended for growing plants and
sometimes partially filled with soil (volumes of 2–20 l);
‘others’ included uncommon vessels or spaces ranging from
candle holders (0.1 l) to large empty cement spaces intended
for a coffin (1200 l). With the exception of vases, which
would have been filled also by hand, all containers were
assumed to be filled with water by rainfall only.
In those containing water, the water volume was
measured by decanting into a graduated cylinder, and pH
was measured with a handheld pH meter (Hanna Instru-
ments, RI, USA). pH was measured in intervals of half-
units. Larval and pupal infestation (absence or presence)
was assessed and to facilitate counting, the water was
filtered through netting. The number of Aedes sp. eggs laid
in each container was also counted. From each grave where
mosquitoes were found, 1–10 larvae were stored in 70%
ethanol for identification. As A. aegypti is by far the
predominant container-breeding Aedes species in this area
(Brown & Scorza 1995), all Aedes were assumed to be
A. aegypti. Culex sp. were not differentiated.
To measure adult A. aegypti oviposition activity, ovi-
traps (300 ml dark blue plastic cups lined with fabric) were
deployed at intervals of one trap per approximately
300 m2. The trap was partially filled with 100 ml tap
water, placed on a grave for 7 days, when the number of
eclosed and intact eggs in each ovitrap were counted under
the microscope. From the positive traps, 10 highly positive
traps were selected, re-filled with tap water and held in the
laboratory for 3 days, when hatched larvae were counted
to determine the hatch rate.
ª 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Tropical Medicine and International Health volume 10 no 6 pp 597–603 june 2005

M. Abe et al. Aedes aegypti infestations in a Venezuelan cemetery

Highest point - 806m Street

Residential area Residential area

Sector A
Sector B
Sector C
Lowest point
N -751m
Chapel
(inactive) Street Residential area

Residential area
100m

Gate Wall Boundary Drain

Figure 1 The Buen Pastor Cemetery, Trujillo, Venezuela: aerial view from eastern side of mountain (top) and diagram (bottom).

retain newly emerged adult mosquitoes. Each container

Quantification of mosquito output
was provided with a cotton pad soaked with 10% sucrose
After counting total numbers of pupae, pupa-positive to provide food, and a cover of leaves to protect from
containers in the cemetery were covered with netting to sunlight. After 24 and 48 h, dead and alive emerged adults

ª 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 599

Tropical Medicine and International Health volume 10 no 6 pp 597–603 june 2005

M. Abe et al. Aedes aegypti infestations in a Venezuelan cemetery

were collected with an aspirator from the containers and

genus and sex recorded.
Analyses
Data were analysed and compared by anova, chi-square
and Kruskal–Wallis tests using EpiInfo 2002.
Results
A total of 173 graves were sampled over a month and
containers were found on 126 (72.8%). The total number
of containers examined was 366, of which 160 (44%) held
water. The density of containers per hectare was 130, 235
and 189 in sectors A, B and C respectively. The water
volume within containers ranged widely from 0.01 to 50 l
(mean ± SE ¼ 1.3 ± 4.1). Water pH also varied greatly
from 3.5 to 10.5 (mean ± SE ¼ 8.2 ± 0.9), and was
significantly associated with container material: cement
(8.4 ± 0.08), metal (7.7 ± 0.26), plastic (8.2 ± 0.15) and
glass (8.8 ± 0.31) (anova; P < 0.01). Aedes sp. larvae were
found in water at pH of 6.5–10.5 and Culex sp. larvae at
pH of 7.0–8.5. It rained on 19 of the 25 days of the study,
with a total of 72.9 mm recorded over the whole period
(11 days >0.2 mm, 7 days >2 mm, 1 day >20 mm). Daily
temperatures ranged from 20.4 to 34.2
C with a mean of
25.1
C.
Pupal infestations
The results of pupal and larval surveys in the cemetery are
shown in Table 1. Nearly half (46.9%) of water-filled
containers were infested with larvae and/or pupae. Aedes
aegypti larvae were found in 95% of larval/pupal-positive
samples (the remaining 5% were Culex sp. larvae, not
included in these analyses). The average density of Aedes-
positive containers was 39/ha (75/1.93 ha). The container
index (% of containers positive for larval and pupal
infestation) was similar between sectors, but the pupal-
positive container rate in sector C was lower than in the
other two sectors (chi-square ¼ 11.09, d.f. ¼ 4, P < 0.05).
Infestation rates in containers of different types or
materials were not significantly different (P > 0.10). The
mean number of pupae per container in the 46 positive
containers was 17.6 (46/809; Table 2) and again no
significant differences were seen in infestation rates
between container types or between container materials.
Containers with 1–5 l of water produced the greatest
proportion of the pupae found in the cemetery (46.7%,
378/809). No pupae were found in containers containing
<100 ml of water (n ¼ 20). The number of pupae in the
shaded sectors A (3,014/ha) and B (5,617/ha) was higher
than in sector C (2865 pupae/ha) (chi-square; P < 0.05).
The mean pupal number produced per hectare over
48 h was estimated as follows: Total pupal number

Table 1 Aedes aegypti larval and/or pupal positive rate in the cemetery

Graves Containers

Larval
and pupal Larval
positive positive Pupal positive

No. sampled % Positive Total assessed No. with water N % N % N %

Total 173 24.9 366 160 75 46.9 74 46.3 46 28.8

Sector
A 41 24.4 89 45 17 37.8 17 37.8 15 33.3*
B 103 24.3 209 72 39 54.2 38 52.8 27 37.5*
C 29 27.6 68 43 19 44.2 19 44.2 4 9.3*
Container type
Vase 217 137 61 44.5 60 43.8 37 27.0
Planter  141 20 14 70.0 14 70.0 9 45.0
Othersà 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Container material
Cement 254 91 49 53.8 48 52.7 29 31.9
Metal 57 39 15 38.5 15 38.5 8 20.5
Plastic 39 20 9 45.0 9 45.0 7 35.0
Glass 11 8 1 12.5 1 12.5 1 12.5
Other§ 5 2 1 – 1 – 1 –

  Planters were vessels for holding soil; à Water-holding containers including empty coffin spaces and candle holders; § Containers of
marble or polished stone; * P < 0.05.

600 ª 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Tropical Medicine and International Health volume 10 no 6 pp 597–603 june 2005

M. Abe et al. Aedes aegypti infestations in a Venezuelan cemetery

Table 2 Aedes aegypti pupal counts and densities in different containers in the cemetery

Pupal density per container

Pupal count (pupae/litre)
No. of pupal-positive Total no.
containers pupae found Maximum* Mean (SD) Range Mean (SD)

Total 46 809 176 25.6 (30.5) 0.9–310.0 25.6 (51.8)

Sector
A 15 206 53 13.7 (14.0) 0.9–35.0 12.1 (10.4)
B 27 500 176 18.5 (36.7) 0.9–310.0 35.3 (65.9)
C 4 103 76 25.8 (34.0) 1–20.0 10.7 (9.1)
Container type
Vase 37 485 93 13.1 (19.7) 0.9–310.0 26.8 (54.2)
Planter  9 324 176 36.0 (54.8) 0.9–135.0 20.5 43.3)
Othersà 0 – – – – –
Container material
Cement 29 537 176 18.5 (35.8) 0.9–310.0 31.5 (63.1)
Metal 8 117 44 14.6 (15.1) 5–88.0 18.5 (28.3)
Plastic 7 147 76 21.0 (25.5) 4–37.5 15.6 (11.4)
Glass 1 2 – – – –
Other§ 1 6 – – – –

* Minimum ¼ 0 in all cases;   Planters were vessels for holding soil; à Water-holding containers including empty coffin spaces and candle
holders; § Containers of marble or polished stone.
There were no significant differences between pupal counts and container types (P > 0.05) or materials, or between pupal densities
and container types or materials (P > 0.1).

counted · 10 (¼sampling interval)/assessed area (ha) ¼
809 pupae · 10/1.933 ha ¼ 4185 pupae/ha per 48 h.
Egg infestation rates
Levels of container infestation with eggs differed signifi-
cantly between sectors. Of 366 containers examined, 60
(16.4%) were egg positive, with a mean infestation level of
65.8 eggs per container (SD ¼ 65.9). A breakdown of
infestation levels in water-holding and dry containers is
presented in Table 3. The highest positive rate was observed
in sector B in both water-holding and dry containers. In fact,
egg-positive dry containers were found only in sector B,
where 9.5% (mainly vases and planters) were infested.
Cement containers were most commonly found to contain
eggs, and eggs were never found in metal containers.
Of 128 ovitraps deployed, 125 were collected 7 days later
and 61 (48.8%) were positive. The number of eggs per cup
ranged from 1 to 179 (mean ¼ 9, SD ¼ 21.6). The trap
positivity rates in sectors A, B and C were 50.0%, 51.4% and
36.7% respectively. This difference was not significant. (P >
0.1). Using un-eclosed eggs from 10 highly positive ovitraps,
the egg hatch rate was 62.9% (163/259 eggs) over 72 h.
Adult productivity
To determine the daily output of potential vector mosquitoes
from the entire cemetery, the emergence rate of adults from
379 pupae taken from 21 containers was measured. Of 307
(81%) emerged adults, 178 (58%) were female Aedes sp.
(the slightly higher female ratio may result from sampling
containers from which the males had already begun to
emerge). Based on these data, a daily emergence rate from
the cemetery was calculated as follows: Total female pro-
duction ¼ 4185 pupae/ha in 2 days · 0.5 · 3.47 ha · 0.81
adults · 0.5 females ¼ 2,940 females per day.
Discussion
Clearly, the Buen Pastor cemetery in Trujillo, Venezuela
provides a highly suitable breeding environment and is a
major source of A. aegypti in that area of the city. With, at
this time of year at least, approximately a quarter of all
graves supporting vector breeding, over 40% of containers
holding water and almost half of these with larvae or
pupae (Table 1), vector infestation levels were very high,
resulting in a calculated daily output of 3400 female
mosquitoes emerging from the cemetery. The extent of this
output can be seen when a comparison of the pupal rates in
the cemetery (809 pupae/173 graves or 4.7 pupae per
grave, Tables 1 and 2) is made with recent data from the
immediately adjacent residential area (113 pupae/219
households or 0.5 pupae per household; A. Lenhart, E.
Villegas, A. Kroeger, unpublished data 2003). Similarly,
the container index (% water containers with Aedes larvae)
was 46.3% in the cemetery but only 1.5% in the adjacent

ª 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 601

Tropical Medicine and International Health volume 10 no 6 pp 597–603 june 2005

M. Abe et al. Aedes aegypti infestations in a Venezuelan cemetery

Table 3 Aedes aegypti egg infestation

Containers Egg count in 160 water-holding containers in the
cemetery
Total No. with eggs (%) Total Mean (SD)

Water-holding containers
Sector
A 45 15 (33.3)* 713 47.5 (22.5)
B 72 28 (39.0)* 2158 77.1 (64.0)
C 43 4 (9.0)* 260 65.0 (43.6)
Container type
Vase 137 39 (28.5) 2468 63.3 (54.1)
Planter  20 8 (40.0) 663 82.9 (50.8)
Othersà 3 0 0 –
Container material
Cement 91 44 (48.4)**** 2969 67.5 (67.5)
Metal 39 0**** 0 –
Plastic 20 2 (10.0)**** 62 31.0
Glass 8 0**** 0 –
Other§ 2 1**** 100 –
Dry containers
Sector
A 44 0* 0 –
B 137 13 (9.5)* 818 62.9 (101.8)
C 25 0* 0 –
Container type
Vase 80 7 (8.8) 108 15.4 (7.8)
Planter  121 6 (5.0) 710 118.3 (134.0)
Others  5 0 0 –
Container material
Cement 163 12 (7.4) 809 67.4 (104.9)
Metal 18 0 0 –
Plastic 19 1 (5.3) 9 –
Glass 3 0 0 –
Other§ 3 0 0 –

  Planters were vessels for holding soil; à Water-holding containers including empty coffin
spaces and candle holders; § Containers of marble or polished stone; * P < 0.05,
** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001, **** P < 0.0001.

residential area (unpublished data 2003). Although com-
parison between such different units should be made with
caution, given that the density of graves is quite signifi-
cantly higher per unit of area than households, the number
of positive containers is remarkably high in the cemetery.
Moreover, with little human activity in the cemetery, these
mosquitoes must presumably have left the cemetery to feed
in the adjoining residential houses, though this would need
to be confirmed.
Planters accounted for 12.5% of all water-holding
containers and held 40% of all pupae (Table 2). Similarly,
the results of the egg infestation study suggested a
preference of female A. aegypti for oviposition in cement
containers (Table 3) though whether this was associated
with the material or some other aspect of the containers
remains unknown. With planters comprising 69% (254/
366) of all containers in the cemetery (Table 1), the total
number of cement containers in Buen Pastor cemetery is
estimated at more than 10 000 (numbers from the cemet-
ery administration office). Clearly planters constitute the
most important source of vectors in the cemetery. Whether
this is the result of any specific attraction to the material or
colour of the planters or simply because they constituted
the most available breeding site remains to be determined.
The larger volume cement containers, typically large spaces
designed to receive infant-sized or larger coffins, yielded
very few eggs or immatures. Schultz (1989) also reported
that both A. aegypti and A. albopictus were found breeding
abundantly in cement vases in cemeteries in Manila.
Vezzani and Schweigmann (2002) reported that plastic

602 ª 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Tropical Medicine and International Health
M. Abe et al. Aedes aegypti infestations in a Venezuelan cemetery
containers were more frequently infested than any others in
a Buenos Aires cemetery, where there were no cement
containers.
Difference in vector infestation levels between different
sectors within the cemetery appeared to be related to the
density of vegetation in each sector. Thus in the centre of
sector C, which was completely exposed, A. aegypti pupae
levels and egg counts were lowest (Tables 1 and 3).
Conversely, in sector B, where the vegetation was most
abundant, mosquito activity was greatest, as evidenced by
high oviposition rates in ovitraps, high egg infestation rates
in both wet and dry containers and the highest pupal
densities. Vezzani et al. (2001) also found similar correla-
tions between vegetation cover and infestation levels in
Buenos Aires. Interestingly, in our study, the container index
(% of containers positive for larval and pupal infestation)
was similar between sectors, but the pupal- and egg-positive
container rates in sector C were lower than in the other two
sectors. While high mortalities of developing larvae would
explain the low pupal rates, the lower egg infestations are
more difficult to reconcile without further investigation.
In the communities surrounding the cemetery, environ-
mental management and health education programmes
have been quite successful in reducing dengue vector
populations. Few small containers and no tyres were
found, most discarded containers had been removed and
domestic water containers were covered. But these data
show that the thousands of A. aegypti emerging daily from
the adjacent cemetery may have thwarted these public
health efforts. In quantifying the output of mosquitoes
from such a public place, we have shown their potential
importance as sources of vectors in dengue-endemic urban
areas and have demonstrated that they must be included in
any vector control programme.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful for the field assistance provided by staff at
the Centro de Investigaciónes José W. Torrealba, Núcleo
‘Rafael Rangel’ Trujillo, in particular to Adalberto Gonz-
ales, Milagros Oviedo and Carmen Elena Castillo, for their
support. We thank two anonymous referees for their
Authors
Mayumi Abe, Philip McCall (corresponding author) and Audrey Lenhart, Vector Research Group, Liverpool School of Tropical
Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK. Fax: +44 151 705 3369; E-mail: taenia.abe@nifty.com; mccall@liv.ac.uk; alenhart@liv.ac.uk
Elci Villegas, Universidad de los Andes, Nucleo ‘Rafael Rangel’, Centro de Investigaciónes Jose W. Torrealba, Trujillo, Venezuela.
E-mail: elciv@ula.ve
Axel Kroeger, World Health Organization (WHO) Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) 20
Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. E-mail: kroegera@who.int
ª 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
volume 10 no 6 pp 597–603 june 2005
comments. The study was supported in part by awards
from the Sir Halley Stewart Trust and the Simpson
Education and Conservation Trust, UK.
References
Barrera RR, Machado-Allison CE & Bulla LA (1979) Criaderos,
densidad larval y segregacion de nicho en tres Culicidae
urbanos (Culex fatigans Wied., C. corniger Theo. y Aedes
aegypti L.) en el cementerio de Caracas. Acta Cientifica
Venezolana 30, 418–424.
Brown E & Scorza JF (1995) Faunula culicida en el area del estado
Trujillo, Venezuela y su importancia vectora. Boletin de la di-
reccion de malariologia y saneamiento ambiental 35, 25–29.
O’Meara GF, Gettman AD, Evans LF & Scheel FD (1992a)
Invasion of cemeteries in Florida by Aedes albopictus. Journal of
the American Mosquito Control Association 8, 1–10.
O’Meara GF, Evans LF & Gettman AD (1992b) Reduced mos-
quito production in cemetery vases with copper liners. Journal
of the American Mosquito Control Association 8, 419–420.
PAHO (2003) 2002: Number of reported cases of dengue &
dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) region of the Americas (by
country and subregion). http://www.paho.org/english/ad/dpc/cd/
dengue-cases-2002.htm.
Schultz GW (1989) Cemetery vase breeding of dengue vectors in
Manila, Republic of the Philippines. Journal of the American
Mosquito Association 5, 508–513.
Trujillo State Ministry of Health (2002) Dirección Regional de
Epidemiologı́a y Estadı́stica Vital. Trujillo State Ministry of
Health, Venezuela.
Vezzani D & Schweigmann N (2002) Suitability of containers
from different sources as breeding sites of Aedes aegypti (L.) in a
cemetery of Buenos Aires city, Argentina. Memorias do Instituto
Oswaldo Cruz 97, 789–792.
Vezzani D, Velázquez SM, Soto S & Schweigmann N (2001) En-
vironmental characteristics of the cemeteries of Buenos Aires
city (Argentina) and infestation levels of Aedes aegypti (Diptera:
Culicidae). Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 96, 467–471.
WHO (1999) Vector distribution and bioecology. In: Prevention
and Control of Dengue and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever:
Comprehensive Guidelines. Regional Office for South-east Asia,
New Delhi, pp. 49–52.
WHO (2002) No 117: dengue and dengue haemorrhagic fever.
In: Fact Sheet. World Health Organization, Geneva. http://
www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs117/en/.
603