Article
Infectious Diseases
Keith J. Fraser, Lazaro Mwandigha, Sekou F. Traore, Mohamed M. Traore, Seydou Doumbia, Amy Junnila, Edita Revay, John C. Beier, John M. Marshall, Azra C. Ghani, Gunter Muller
Summary: Attractive targeted sugar baits (ATSBs) have the potential to significantly impact the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in African settings by reducing mosquito survival and inoculation rates. Epidemiological modeling predicts that ATSBs could lead to substantial reductions in malaria prevalence and clinical incidence in a range of malaria-endemic regions.
Article
Ecology
Marianne E. Sinka, Davide Zilli, Yunpeng Li, Ivan Kiskin, Daniel Kirkham, Waqas Rafique, Lawrence Wang, Henry Chan, Benjamin Gutteridge, Eva Herreros-Moya, Henry Portwood, Stephen Roberts, Kathy J. Willis
Summary: The HumBug project introduces an acoustic system that turns smartphones into mosquito sensors, increasing mosquito occurrence data quantity and accessing locations difficult to survey traditionally.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Alexander Kwarteng, Augustina Sylverken, Ebenezer Asiedu, Samuel Terkper Ahuno
Summary: Filarial infections are vector-borne nematode infections with high prevalence in developing countries, causing severe disabilities and a cycle of poverty and disease. Global initiatives to eradicate these infections face challenges in mass treatments, vector control, and vaccine development. Integration of genome editing techniques in future control strategies offers the best option for eliminating filarial infections.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Keith D. Harris, Gili Greenbaum
Summary: Gene drives, a genetic construct for population suppression, require careful consideration for control measures and fail-safe strategies due to potential spillover and loss of the gene drive. A developed gene drive model combining evolutionary and demographic dynamics demonstrates a robust outcome of short-term suppression followed by gene swamping, preventing spillover and resisting resistance evolution, suggesting its suitability as a fail-safe strategy for gene drive deployment.
Article
Microbiology
Rishi Kondapaneni, Ashley N. Malcolm, Brian M. Vazquez, Eric Zeng, Tse-Yu Chen, Kyle J. Kosinski, Ana L. Romero-Weaver, Bryan V. Giordano, Benjamin Allen, Michael T. Riles, Daniel Killingsworth, Lindsay P. Campbell, Eric P. Caragata, Yoosook Lee
Summary: Florida is located in a subtropical region with diverse mosquito species thriving year-round. There are 66 state-approved Florida Mosquito Control Districts collaborating with public universities for mosquito research. The districts have different control approaches and research priorities, highlighting the need for greater alignment and filling knowledge gaps.
Article
Parasitology
Issiaka Sare, Francesco Baldini, Mafalda Viana, Athanase Badolo, Florencia Djigma, Abdoulaye Diabate, Etienne Bilgo
Summary: Local strains of Metarhizium fungi from Burkina Faso demonstrate high virulence and adhesion properties, making them potential biocontrol agents against malaria vectors.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Jackie Cook, Eleanore Sternberg, Carine J. Aoura, Raphael N'Guessan, Immo Kleinschmidt, Alphonsine A. Koffi, Matthew B. Thomas, Serge-Brice Assi
Summary: In recent years, the decline in malaria transmission has slowed down and even reversed in some areas. This study evaluated the impact of a new house-based intervention called Screening + EaveTubes (SET) on malaria infection prevalence in Cote d'Ivoire. The results showed that SET significantly reduced malaria infection prevalence compared to the control group.
Review
Ecology
Ananya Joshi, Clayton Miller
Summary: This literature review analyzed 120 papers related to machine learning for mosquito control in urban settings, highlighting the importance of utilizing crowdsourced data, establishing standardized ML pipelines, and incorporating advances in the field for future research to effectively control mosquitoes.
ECOLOGICAL INFORMATICS
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daniele Fernanda Renzi, Lais de Almeida Campos, Eduardo Hoesel Miranda, Rubiana Mara Mainardes, Wolf-Rainer Abraham, Diana Fortkamp Grigoletto, Najeh Maissar Khalil
Summary: Nanoparticles are considered important alternatives for treating fungal infections, improving the characteristics of antifungals, increasing pharmacodynamic potential, reducing toxicity, and offering the possibility of prolonged action.
CURRENT MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Review
Parasitology
Sundus Shafat Ahmad, Manju Rahi, Poonam Saroha, Amit Sharma
Summary: Malaria is a significant public health burden, and controlling it requires a balance between diagnosis, treatment, and vector control strategies. The Indian government has launched a malaria elimination plan with the aim to achieve a nationwide malaria-free status by 2030. Researchers propose exploring ivermectin as a vector control tool for fighting malaria in India.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications
Meksianis Z. Ndii, Yudi Ari Adi
Summary: The study found that reducing the contact between humans and mosquitoes is crucial for lowering the number of malaria cases, with awareness programs and vector control playing a key role. Global sensitivity analysis identified biting rate, transmission probabilities, and mosquito numbers as the most influential parameters. Optimal control approach indicated that control strategies should be implemented at a higher level for effectiveness.
CHAOS SOLITONS & FRACTALS
(2021)
Review
Biology
Alice Namias, Ndey Bassin Jobe, Krijn Petrus Paaijmans, Silvie Huijben
Summary: Monitoring mosquito populations for insecticide resistance is crucial for disease control; however, standard testing conditions do not accurately reflect field conditions, making efficacy evaluation challenging. Additional testing guidelines are needed to determine practical resistance for programmatic impact.
Article
Parasitology
Elizabeth Pretorius, Mojca Kristan, John Bradley, Eunice Teixeira da Silva, Harry Hutchins, Fatucha Barri, Ansumane Cassama, Sainey Ceesay, Mamadou Ousmane Ndiath, Amabelia Rodrigues, James G. G. Logan, Anna Last, Robert T. T. Jones
Summary: This study validated a methodology that uses dried mosquito specimens to assess the age structure of mosquito populations, providing a cost-effective and logistical solution for remote areas. The results showed high agreement between assessors and demonstrated the feasibility of using this method in field conditions.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Arran Hamlet, Dereje Dengela, J. Eric Tongren, Fitsum G. Tadesse, Teun Bousema, Marianne Sinka, Aklilu Seyoum, Seth R. Irish, Jennifer S. Armistead, Thomas Churcher
Summary: Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced a reduction in malaria cases and deaths in recent years, but this progress may be at risk due to the invasion of Anopheles stephensi. A modeling study found that without additional interventions, malaria cases could increase by 50%. Scaling up vector control interventions would be necessary to prevent a major public health emergency, but it would come with significant costs.
Review
Parasitology
Thomas L. Schmidt, Nancy M. Endersby-Harshman, Ary A. Hoffmann
Summary: Mosquito control strategies are increasingly incorporating knowledge from population genomics research, with recent applications focusing on mosquito invasions, insecticide resistance evolution, and rear and release programs. Current research trends follow developments in reference assemblies, with improvements to existing assemblies for species like Aedes and new assemblies for taxa like Anopheles. The use of improved assemblies allows for better incorporation of adaptive and demographic hypotheses in studies of invasive and rear and release target populations.
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lee R. Haines, Glyn A. Vale, Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Norman C. Ellstrand, John W. Hargrove, Sinead English
Article
Biology
Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Welbeck A. Oumbouke, N'Guessan Brou, Innocent Zran Tia, Ludovic P. Ahoua Alou, Dimi Theodore Doudou, Alphonsine A. Koffi, Raphael N'Guessan, Eleanore D. Sternberg, Matthew B. Thomas
Summary: The study found that screening can significantly reduce indoor mosquito densities, while EaveTubes had no significant impact on indoor mosquito density, but could provide community benefits. Combining screening and EaveTubes can create a 'Lethal House Lure'.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Jennifer S. Lord, Robert Leyland, Lee R. Haines, Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Michael B. Bonsall, Stephen J. Torr, Sinead English
Summary: Through studying tsetse flies, we found that nutritionally stressed females had an impact on reproduction, but the results did not indicate that resource allocation trade-offs or costs of reproduction increase the rate of senescence.
Review
Biology
Mathilda Whittle, Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Michael B. Bonsall, Fleur Ponton, Sinead English
Summary: Many insects rely on intracellular bacterial symbionts to supplement their specialized diets; hosts have tight control over the density of their intracellular bacterial partners, regulating through physical compartmentalization and autophagy.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biology
Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Andrew D. Higginson, Michael B. Bonsall, Sinead English
Summary: Parents face a trade-off between reproduction and survival, and this article investigates the influence of age-dependence and uncertainty on optimal allocation strategy in iteroparous animals using a life-history model. The study focuses on tsetse as a case study, revealing a hump-shaped allocation pattern when energetic costs and energy intake increase with age. Feeding success and environmentally driven mortality risk have little influence on age-dependence in allocation.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Priscille Barreaux, Jacob C. Koella, Raphael N'Guessan, Matthew B. Thomas
Summary: This study presents novel laboratory-based assays that simulate realistic exposure of mosquitoes to insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and quantify the impact of exposure on traits important for malaria transmission. The results showed that a standard ITN had lower instantaneous mortality against resistant mosquitoes compared to a resistance-breaking net, but still had significant impacts on transmission-related traits.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Gnagoran Kouakou Daniel N'Guessan, Fangala Hamidou Coulibaly, Antoine Marc Gaby Barreaux, Roseline Josee Yapo, Kouassi Arsene Adou, Emmanuel Tia, Florence Fournet
Summary: Despite the mass distribution of LLINs in Cote d'Ivoire, the utilization rate of this key malaria control tool by the population remains low. Regarding LLIN maintenance, more than half of the population reported washing their nets but did not comply with recommended practices or repair them.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Melissa A. Iacovidou, Priscille Barreaux, Simon E. F. Spencer, Matthew B. Thomas, Erin E. Gorsich, Kat S. Rock
Summary: This study demonstrates the importance of considering age-dependent mortality rates in mathematical models of vector-borne infections, specifically focusing on insecticide-resistant mosquitoes. The results show that including age dependency leads to a better fit with experimental data and highlights the impact of multiple exposures to insecticide-treated nets on mosquito mortality rates and malaria transmission potential. Overall, this study emphasizes the significance of incorporating age-related factors in understanding and predicting the effectiveness of interventions.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Mohamed F. F. Sallam, Shelley Whitehead, Narayani Barve, Amely Bauer, Robert Guralnick, Julie Allen, Yasmin Tavares, Seth Gibson, Kenneth J. J. Linthicum, Bryan V. V. Giordano, Lindsay P. P. Campbell
Summary: Mosquito vectors of EEEV and WNV in the USA vary in their composition and abundance, which affects pathogen transmission risk and vector control management. This study used CRF to examine spatial co-occurrence patterns between mosquito vectors and found that landscape and climate variables did not substantially improve the prediction of vector species abundance. The majority of vector species were positively dependent on other mosquito species, indicating that they may be habitat generalists.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Emily Nixon, Taru Silvonen, Antoine Barreaux, Rachel Kwiatkowska, Adam Trickey, Amy Thomas, Becky Ali, Georgia Treneman-Evans, Hannah Christensen, Ellen Brooks-Pollock, Sarah Denford
Summary: This study explores the potential biases in social contact survey data through focus group discussions with university students. The findings show that the opportunity to contribute to COVID-19 research, be heard, and feel useful are common motivators for participating in the survey. The decrease in survey engagement may be due to the perception that the research is less critical or participants being busier with more contacts. Reporting a high number of contacts, uncertainty about how to report each contact, and concerns about confidentiality were identified as factors leading to inaccurate reporting. Providing financial incentives or study results could encourage participation, according to the focus group participants.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Welbeck A. Oumbouke, Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Innocent T. Zran, Alphonsine A. Koffi, Yao N'Guessan, Ludovic P. Ahoua Alou, Rosine Z. Wolie, Jackie Cook, Eleanore D. Sternberg, Matthew B. Thomas, Raphael N'Guessan
Summary: The study examined the residual efficacy of a pyrethroid insecticide in the EaveTube intervention for malaria control and explored the possibility of using LLINs and IRS as alternative delivery methods. The results showed high mortality rates of pyrethroid resistant Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes exposed to beta-cyfluthrin in EaveTubes. The effectiveness of alternative delivery methods was short-lived, suggesting the need for further research to identify suitable insecticide delivery options.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Sinead English, Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Robert Leyland, Jennifer S. Lord, John W. Hargrove, Glyn A. Vale, Lee R. Haines
Summary: Research shows that older females have higher rates of abortion, especially at the late-larval stage. Additionally, breeding females experiencing stress, such as nutritional deprivation, also have increased abortion rates. This study emphasizes that reproductive loss is an important yet often overlooked reproductive trait, which is influenced by maternal age and environmental stressors.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Parasitology
Innocent Z. Tia, Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Welbeck A. Oumbouke, Alphonsine A. Koffi, Ludovic P. Ahoua Alou, Soromane Camara, Rosine Z. Wolie, Eleanore D. Sternberg, Amal Dahounto, Gregoire Y. Yapi, Matthew B. Thomas, Raphael N'Guessan
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of eave tube technology on Culex quinquefasciatus under laboratory and semi-field conditions. The results showed that eave tube technology was as effective in controlling C. quinquefasciatus as it was against resistant malaria vectors.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Dramane Kaba, Mathurin Koffi, Lingue Kouakou, Emmanuel Kouassi N'Gouan, Vincent Djohan, Fabrice Courtin, Martial Kassi N'Djetchi, Bamoro Coulibaly, Guy Pacome Adingra, Djakaridja Berte, Bi Tra Dieudonne Ta, Minayegninrin Kone, Barkissa Melika Traore, Samuel A. Sutherland, Ronald E. Crump, Ching- Huang, Jason Madan, Paul R. Bessell, Antoine Barreaux, Philippe Solano, Emily H. Crowley, Kat S. Rock, Vincent Jamonneau
Summary: This article describes the strategies and achievements in eliminating human African trypanosomiasis in Cote d'Ivoire, including medical screening and vector control. The results of the mathematical model show progress in reducing transmission. Cote d'Ivoire has been validated by WHO in 2020 as having eliminated this disease as a public health problem.
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Mathilda Whittle, Michael B. Bonsall, Antoine M. G. Barreaux, Fleur Ponton, Sinead English
Summary: There is increasing evidence that animal hosts actively control the density of their mutualistic symbionts according to their needs. This control is facilitated by compartmentalization of symbionts within host tissues. A theoretical framework is developed to predict the ecological drivers and evolutionary consequences of this host-controlled symbiont density regulation.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
