Blood feeding is an integral process required for physiological functions and propagation of the malaria vector Anopheles. During blood feeding, presence of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium in the blood induces several host effector molecules including microRNAs which play important roles in the development and maturation of the parasite within the mosquito. The present study was undertaken to ...

Insecticide treated nets (ITNs) represent a powerful means for controlling malaria in Africa because the mosquito vectors feed primarily indoors at night. The proportion of human exposure that occurs indoors, when people are asleep and can conveniently use ITNs, is therefore very high. Recent evidence suggests behavioral changes by malaria mosquito populations to avoid contact with ITNs by feed...

A basic quantitative understanding of malaria transmission requires measuring the probability a mosquito becomes infected after feeding on a human. Parasite prevalence in mosquitoes is highly age-dependent, and the unknown age-structure of fluctuating mosquito populations impedes estimation. Here, we simulate mosquito infection dynamics, where mosquito recruitment is modelled seasonally with fr...

Plasmodium vivax in southern Mexico exhibits different infectivities to 2 local mosquito vectors, Anopheles pseudopunctipennis and Anopheles albimanus. Previous work has tied these differences in mosquito infectivity to variation in the central repeat motif of the malaria parasite's circumsporozoite (csp) gene, but subsequent studies have questioned this view. Here we present evidence that P. v...

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne virus in the family Bunyaviridiae that has spread throughout continental Africa to Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula. The establishment of RVFV in North America would have serious consequences for human and animal health in addition to a significant economic impact on the livestock industry. Published and unpublished data on RVFV vector comp...

Wing Beats 25 In this ar t icle we describe our recent work on the development and field demonstration of a new type of carbon dioxide baiting source for mosquito surveillance. Everyone involved in mosquito control is aware of the close relationship between carbon dioxide and mosquito attraction. Mosquitoes use carbon dioxide plumes to find host animals for blood feeding. It is well documented ...

The larval stages of malaria vector mosquitoes develop in water pools, feeding mostly on microorganisms and environmental detritus. Richness in the nutrient supply to larvae influences the development and metabolism of larvae and adults. Here, we investigated the effects of larval diet on the development, microbiota content and permissiveness to Plasmodium of Anopheles coluzzii. We tested three...

The physical integrity of bednets is a concern of national malaria control programs, as it is a key factor in determining the rate of replacement of bednets. It is largely assumed that increased numbers of holes will result in a loss of protection of sleepers from potentially infective bites. Experimental hut studies are valuable in understanding mosquito behaviour indoors, particularly as it r...