End of Year Report, January 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018, ZAP El Salvador

These municipalities were located within the country's departments most affected by arboviruses. Entomological surveillance was conducted in four municipalities: San Sebastian, Mejicanos, Verapaz, and Chalatenango. During the reporting period, ZAP El Salvador conducted an average of 114,882 household vector control visits per month. Aedes indices decreased from 2017, as did container indices in all nine municipalities. Household indices showed the greatest decline in Cojutepeque, Mejicanos, and Sensuntepeque. The Breteau index showed a marked reduction in Cojutepeque, El Paisnal, and Sensuntepeque, and Aedes larvae indices decreased in seven municipalities. ZAP fostered a strategy to actively involve community members in source reduction efforts by organizing 47 cleaning campaigns to eliminate breeding sites with support from schools, community organizations, and community leaders. ZAP enhanced messaging by targeting priority areas through 553 hours of public announcements. In 2018, the number of closed houses found by vector control technicians dropped by 7 percent when compared to 2017. The Ministry of Health of El Salvador (MOH) inaugurated the first national entomology laboratory in El Paisnal, which was established by ZAP. The laboratory allows the MOH to support routine entomological surveillance activities, conduct routine insecticide resistance (IR) tests, and evaluate the efficacy of insecticides used across the country for the first time. ZAP directly conducted IR testing in five municipalities: Chalatenango, Mejicanos, San Sebastian, Santa Rita, and Verapaz. ZAP strengthened MOH capacity through several trainings in entomological surveillance, vector control, and environmental compliance. During the reporting period, ZAP conducted three national workshops: the Second National Entomological Workshop, the National Vector Control Workshop, and the Environmental Compliance Workshop. ZAP also held ad-hoc trainings for three national health regions to increase knowledge about Aedes vectors and best practices to monitor these mosquito populations. To strengthen longer-term capacity, the Universidad Evangelica de El Salvador (UEES), the MOH, and ZAP launched the country's first Medical Entomology Diplomado program in September 2018. ZAP supported the development of curricula and provided materials and equipment to conduct practical sessions on IR tests. The program aims to train 140 MOH staff and five local ZAP ES employees by September 2019. ZAP conducted three pilots during 2018: wide area spraying of Bti with motorized backpacks in El Paisnal; mobile data entry in six municipalities, and a behavioral study on adult Aedes aegypti in San Sebastian and Verapaz. Findings from these pilots will inform ZAP programming and provide lessons learned to stakeholders in El Salvador and in the region. The USAID-funded Zika AIRS Project (ZAP) aims to reduce the burden of arboviruses by strengthening local capacity in entomological monitoring and vector control. ZAP El Salvador implemented entomological monitoring interventions in May 2017, and vector control activities started between June and August 2017. Currently, ZAP implements entomological monitoring and vector control activities in nine municipalities. ZAP strengthened MOH capacity through several trainings in entomological surveillance, vector control, and environmental compliance. During the reporting period, ZAP conducted three national workshops: the Second National Ent