mosquito

As new and re-emerging vector-borne diseases are occurring across the world, East Africa represents an interesting location, being the origin of several arboviruses with a history of urbanization and global spread. Rapid expansion of urban populations and alteration of natural habitats creates the opportunity for arboviruses to host-switch from wild, sylvatic hosts or vectors into urban transmission affecting human populations. Although mosquito surveillance regularly takes place in urban areas of Kenya, for example identifying vectors of dengue virus or malaria viruses, little work has been carried out to determine the distribution and abundance of sylvatic vectors. Here, we describe the mosquito vector species and diversity collected at twelve forest habitats of rural Kenya.

Mass administration of antimalarial drugs and ivermectin are being considered as potential accelerators of malaria elimination. The safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and mosquito‐lethal effects of combinations of ivermectin, dihydroartemisinin‐piperaquine, and primaquine were evaluated. Coadministration of ivermectin and dihydroartemisinin‐piperaquine resulted in increased ivermectin concentrations with corresponding increases in mosquito‐lethal effect across all subjects.

Mosquito-borne diseases represent a major threat to humankind. Recently, the incidence of malaria has stopped decreasing while that of dengue is increasing exponentially. Alternative mosquito-control methods are urgently needed.

Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti are perhaps the best studied mosquito species and important carriers of human malaria and arbovirus, respectively. Mosquitoes have daily rhythms in behaviors and show a wide range of activity patterns. Although Anopheles is known to be principally nocturnal and Aedes principally diurnal, details of mosquito activity are not easily assayed in the laboratory.

Residents of malaria-endemic communities spend several hours outdoors performing different activities, e.g. cooking, story-telling or eating, thereby exposing themselves to potentially-infectious mosquitoes. This compromises effectiveness of indoor interventions, notably long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS). This study characterized common peri-domestic spaces in rural south-eastern Tanzania, and assessed protective efficacy against mosquitoes of hessian fabric mats and ribbons treated with the spatial repellent, transfluthrin, and fitted to chairs and outdoor kitchens, respectively.