Since 2016, Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit (PRVCU) has been implementing an island-wide Integrated Vector Management program that is focused on Aedes aegypti, our principal vector of dengue, Zika and chikungunya. As many other vector control organizations experienced, our program’s logistics and operations were significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. There were restrictions on personnel and workspace; supplies, particularly PCR reagents, were hard to get; many of our lab, field, and community teams fell ill to the virus; etc. However, at the same time, the number of dengue cases began to increase so the Unit could not simply shut down. Even if that were not the case, we had a large network of over 2,000 AGO gravid traps in the field and they could not be abandoned or else they would have become mosquito breeding sites themselves. Consequently, the Unit needed to adapt to the new limits and safety regulations to maintain operationally efficiency in each area of importance: surveillance, control, and community mobilization. Technician tasks were reorganized, and technicians given new responsibilities in the field, community engagement protocols changed, educational activities had to adapt to a new reality, new surveillance areas appeared as dengue cases mounted, new social distancing requirements challenged in-house molecular arbovirus in our small molecular lab spaces and our insecticide resistance assay schedules, and so on. All of these complicated our ability to respond effectively to the emerging dengue threat. One way we adapted was to re-structure our SOP’s so as to continue to function within this new environment. In particular, our Quality Assurance program altered these SOPs to maintain focus on the vector surveillance and control programs before, during and after the pandemic. We believe that the process of adapting work environments, logistics, and technician teams have improved our efficiency going forward. In this presentation, we share the procedures and results of these adaptations in the hopes that they may be helpful to other vector management programs.
