COPA

What is COPA?

COPA (Communities Organized to Prevent Arboviruses) is a project designed to organize and mobilize communities in 14 zones of Ponce, Puerto Rico, to prevent diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.

It is a collaboration between Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU), the Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit (PR VCU), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Our Isla,
our health,
our responsibility.

In Puerto Rico, the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can spread dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses. Just a few mosquitoes can cause large outbreaks of these diseases. This project will help us more effectively and precisely establish the amount of these diseases in the communities, as well as help us better understand the communities’ needs. The project will also help us understand residents’ opinions and to consider them in the design and implementation of methods to control mosquito populations.

Which activities are part of COPA?

Community activities

Collaboration with communities and their leaders to ask their opinions and keep them informed.

Household visits

Interviews to better understand community members’ health and opinions. Free blood tests to find out if household members have recently had dengue, zika, or chikungunya.

Mosquito traps

Placement of AGO traps in the communities to find out the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitos in the area.

Educational activities

School visits and community presentations to teach techniques for mosquito breeding site prevention and personal protection from mosquito bites.

Who can participate?

3,500 Ponce residents

Randomly selected houses

People from 1 to 50 years old

Minors with their parents’ authorization

Together, we can have communities free of Aedes aegypti

Questions? Contact us!

Phone numbers: (787) 671-3348, (787) 221-9561

E-mail: [email protected]