Insect vectors of human diseases are subject to diseases of their own caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and nematodes. Over the past 30 years, many members of these groups have been evaluated as vector control agents, particularly for mosquito control. Most pathogens and nematodes occur primarily in larvae, and are only effective against this stage. The principal candidate control...

BACKGROUND In 2002, the City of Ottawa was interested in the public perception of West Nile Virus (WNV) and mosquito control. Their objectives were to assess: awareness of WNV, practices to reduce mosquito sources, personal protective measures, and attitudes towards community-based insecticide programs. METHODS In July 2002, we administered a telephone survey to a random, stratified sample of...

Dengue Fever (DF) and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) have been the most common urban diseases in Southeast Asia since the 1950s. More recently, the diseases have spread to Central and South America and are now considered as worldwide diseases. Both Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are involved in the transmission of DF/DHF in Southeast Asian region. The paper discusses the present status and...

Larviciding to control malaria was assessed in rural areas with extensive seasonal flooding. Larval and adult mosquitoes and malaria incidence were surveyed routinely in four 100-km(2) areas either side of the Gambia River. Baseline data were collected in 2005. Microbial larvicide was applied to all water bodies by hand application with water-dispersible granular formulations and corn granules ...

BACKGROUND Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse) is an important disease vector and biting nuisance. During the 2009 active season, six ∼1000-parcel sites were studied, three in urban and three in suburban areas of New Jersey, United States, to examine the efficacy of standard integrated urban mosquito control strategies applied area wide. Active source reduction, larviciding, adulticiding and p...

This investigation was undertaken to determine whether the mosquito larvicide temephos (applied as Abate 4-Et) created an environmental hazard for nontarget organisms in a southwest Florida salt marsh community. Field toxicity tests were performed during routine larvicide applications using larvae of salt marsh crabs (Aratus pesonii and Uca rapax) and adult Mysidopsis bahia. Laboratory toxicity...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES A longitudinal, entomological and virological study was conducted from 2007 to 2010 in four dengue fever affected areas of Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala to understand the risk factors involved in the dengue transmission. METHODS Aedes surveys were carried out seasonally in the selected localities both indoors and peridomestic sites. Water holding containers were ...

We aim to review the current epidemiology of nodding syndrome (NS) and discuss relevant gaps in research. NS and convulsive epilepsy of unknown aetiology are clustered within the same villages and families in onchocerciasis-endemic areas. They are therefore potentially different clinical expressions of the same disease. It has been difficult to perform full autopsies on NS patients who die in r...