Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted ascending) Filter | PMID Filter |
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| reactive oxygen species-dependent cell signaling regulates the mosquito immune response to plasmodium falciparum. | reactive oxygen species (ros) have been implicated in direct killing of pathogens, increased tissue damage, and regulation of immune signaling pathways in mammalian cells. available research suggests that analogous phenomena affect the establishment of plasmodium infection in anopheles mosquitoes. we have previously shown that provision of human insulin in a blood meal leads to increased ros levels in anopheles stephensi. here, we demonstrate that provision of human insulin significantly increas ... | 2011 | 21126166 |
| microbiome influences on insect host vector competence. | insect symbioses lack the complexity and diversity of those associated with higher eukaryotic hosts. symbiotic microbiomes are beneficial to their insect hosts in many ways, including dietary supplementation, tolerance to environmental perturbations and maintenance and/or enhancement of host immune system homeostasis. recent studies have also highlighted the importance of the microbiome in the context of host pathogen transmission processes. here we provide an overview of the relationship betwee ... | 2011 | 21697014 |
| the effect of bacterial challenge on ferritin regulation in the yellow fever mosquito, aedes aegypti. | secreted ferritin is the major iron storage and transport protein in insects. here, we characterize the message and protein expression profiles of yellow fever mosquito (aedes aegypti) ferritin heavy chain homologue (hch) and light chain homologue (lch) subunits in response to iron and bacterial challenge. in vivo experiments demonstrated tissue-specific regulation of hch and lch expression over time post-blood meal (pbm). transcriptional regulation of hch and lch was treatment specific, with di ... | 2012 | 23956079 |
| rapid molecular detection methods for arboviruses of livestock of importance to northern europe. | arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) have been responsible for some of the most explosive epidemics of emerging infectious diseases over the past decade. their impact on both human and livestock populations has been dramatic. the early detection either through surveillance or diagnosis of virus will be a critical feature in responding and resolving the emergence of such epidemics in the future. although some of the most important emerging arboviruses are human pathogens, this paper aims to high ... | 2012 | 22219660 |
| aging partially restores the efficacy of malaria vector control in insecticide-resistant populations of anopheles gambiae s.l. from burkina faso. | abstract: background: the operational impact of insecticide resistance on the effectiveness of long-lasting insecticide nets (llins) and indoor residual spraying (irs) is poorly understood. one factor which may prolong the effectiveness of these tools in the field is the increase in insecticide susceptibility with mosquito age. in this study, llins and irs were tested against young (three to five days) and old (17-19 days) pyrethroid resistant anopheles gambiae s.l. from burkina faso. methods: ... | 2012 | 22269002 |
| optimized pan-species and speciation duplex real-time pcr assays for plasmodium parasites detection in malaria vectors. | an accurate method for detecting malaria parasites in the mosquito's vector remains an essential component in the vector control. the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay specific for circumsporozoite protein (elisa-csp) is the gold standard method for the detection of malaria parasites in the vector even if it presents some limitations. here, we optimized multiplex real-time pcr assays to accurately detect minor populations in mixed infection with multiple plasmodium species in the african malaria ... | 2012 | 23285168 |
| reproductive isolation and local adaptation quantified for a chromosome inversion in a malaria mosquito. | chromosome inversions have long been thought to be involved in speciation and local adaptation. we have little quantitative information, however, about the effects that inversion polymorphisms have on reproductive isolation and viability. here we provide the first estimates from any organism for the total amount of reproductive isolation associated with an inversion segregating in natural populations. we sampled chromosomes from 751 mosquitoes of the malaria vector anopheles funestus along a 142 ... | 2012 | 23550747 |
| Transplacental Transmission of Plasmodium falciparum in a Highly Malaria Endemic Area of Burkina Faso. | Malaria congenital infection constitutes a major risk in malaria endemic areas. In this study, we report the prevalence of transplacental malaria in Burkina Faso. In labour and delivery units, thick and thin blood films were made from maternal, placental, and umbilical cord blood to determine malaria infection. A total of 1,309 mother/baby pairs were recruited. Eighteen cord blood samples (1.4%) contained malaria parasites (Plasmodium falciparum). Out of the 369 (28.2%) women with peripheral pos ... | 2012 | 22174725 |
| lysophosphatidylcholine: a novel modulator of trypanosoma cruzi transmission. | lysophosphatidylcholine is a bioactive lipid that regulates a large number of cellular processes and is especially present during the deposition and infiltration of inflammatory cells and deposition of atheromatous plaque. such molecule is also present in saliva and feces of the hematophagous organism rhodnius prolixus, a triatominae bug vector of chagas disease. we have recently demonstrated that lpc is a modulator of trypanosoma cruzi transmission. it acts as a powerful chemoattractant for inf ... | 2012 | 22132309 |
| cholinergic and non-cholinergic functions of two acetylcholinesterase genes revealed by gene-silencing in tribolium castaneum. | we compared biological functions of two acetylcholinesterase genes (tcace1 and tcace2) in tribolium castaneum, a globally distributed major pest of stored grain products and an emerging model organism, by using rna interference. although both genes expressed at all developmental stages and mainly in the brain, the transcript level of tcace1 was 1.2- to 8.7-fold higher than that of tcace2, depending on developmental stages. silencing tcace1 in 20-day larvae led to 100% mortality within two weeks ... | 2012 | 22371826 |
| predicting the current and future potential distributions of lymphatic filariasis in africa using maximum entropy ecological niche modelling. | modelling the spatial distributions of human parasite species is crucial to understanding the environmental determinants of infection as well as for guiding the planning of control programmes. here, we use ecological niche modelling to map the current potential distribution of the macroparasitic disease, lymphatic filariasis (lf), in africa, and to estimate how future changes in climate and population could affect its spread and burden across the continent. we used 508 community-specific infecti ... | 2012 | 22359670 |
| spatially explicit analyses of anopheline mosquitoes indoor resting density: implications for malaria control. | the question of sampling and spatial aggregation of malaria vectors is central to vector control efforts and estimates of transmission. spatial patterns of anopheline populations are complex because mosquitoes' habitats and behaviors are strongly heterogeneous. analyses of spatially referenced counts provide a powerful approach to delineate complex distribution patterns, and contributions of these methods in the study and control of malaria vectors must be carefully evaluated. | 2012 | 22348131 |
| integrated mosquito larval source management reduces larval numbers in two highland villages in western kenya. | in western kenya, malaria remains one of the major health problems and its control remains an important public health measure. malaria control is by either use of drugs to treat patients infected with malaria parasites or by controlling the vectors. vector control may target the free living adult or aquatic (larval) stages of mosquito. the most commonly applied control strategies target indoor resting mosquitoes. however, because mosquitoes spend a considerable time in water, targeting the aquat ... | 2012 | 22607227 |
| dry season reproductive depression of anopheles gambiae in the sahel. | the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae, is widespread south of the sahara including in dry savannahs and semi-arid environments where no surface water exists for several months a year. adults of the m form of an. gambiae persist through the long dry season, when no surface waters are available, by increasing their maximal survival from 4 weeks to 7 months. dry season diapause (aestivation) presumably underlies this extended survival. diapause in adult insects is intrinsically linked to ... | 2012 | 22609421 |
| identification and classification of detoxification enzymes from culex quinquefasciatus (diptera: culicidae). | molecular characterization of the insecticide resistance has become a hot research topic ever since the first disease transmitting arthropod (anopheles gambiae) genome sequence has unveiled in 2002. a recent publication of the culex quinquefasciatus genome sequence has opened up new opportunities for molecular and comparative genomic analysis of multiple mosquito genomes to characterize the insecticide resistance. here, we utilized a whole genome sequence of cx. quinquefasciatus to identify puta ... | 2012 | 22715314 |
| haemoglobin variants and plasmodium falciparum malaria in children under five years of age living in a high and seasonal malaria transmission area of burkina faso. | genetic factors play a key role in determining resistance/susceptibility to infectious disease. susceptibility of the human host to malaria infection has been reported to be influenced by genetic factors, which could be confounders if not taken into account in the assessment of the efficacy of interventions against malaria. this study aimed to assess the relationship between haemoglobin genotypes and malaria in children under five years in a site being characterized for future malaria vaccine tr ... | 2012 | 22559271 |
| spatial and temporal dynamics of malaria transmission in rural western kenya. | understanding the relationship between plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission and health outcomes requires accurate estimates of exposure to infectious mosquitoes. however, measures of exposure such as mosquito density and entomological inoculation rate (eir) are generally aggregated over large areas and time periods, biasing the outcome-exposure relationship. there are few studies examining the extent and drivers of local variation in malaria exposure in endemic areas. | 2012 | 22541138 |
| characterization of the transcriptome of an ecologically important avian species, the vinous-throated parrotbill paradoxornis webbianus bulomachus (paradoxornithidae; aves). | adaptive divergence driven by environmental heterogeneity has long been a fascinating topic in ecology and evolutionary biology. the study of the genetic basis of adaptive divergence has, however, been greatly hampered by a lack of genomic information. the recent development of transcriptome sequencing provides an unprecedented opportunity to generate large amounts of genomic data for detailed investigations of the genetics of adaptive divergence in non-model organisms. herein, we used the illum ... | 2012 | 22530590 |
| functional organization and its implication in evolution of the human protein-protein interaction network. | based on the distinguishing properties of protein-protein interaction networks such as power-law degree distribution and modularity structure, several stochastic models for the evolution of these networks have been purposed, motivated by the idea that a validated model should reproduce similar topological properties of the empirical network. however, being able to capture topological properties does not necessarily mean it correctly reproduces how networks emerge and evolve. more importantly, th ... | 2012 | 22530615 |
| artemisinin-based combination therapy does not measurably reduce human infectiousness to vectors in a setting of intense malaria transmission. | artemisinin-based combination therapy (act) for treating malaria has activity against immature gametocytes. in theory, this property may complement the effect of terminating otherwise lengthy malaria infections and reducing the parasite reservoir in the human population that can infect vector mosquitoes. however, this has never been verified at a population level in a setting with intense transmission, where chronically infectious asymptomatic carriers are common and cured patients are rapidly a ... | 2012 | 22513162 |
| footprints of positive selection associated with a mutation (n1575y) in the voltage-gated sodium channel of anopheles gambiae. | insecticide resistance is an ideal model to study the emergence and spread of adaptative variants. in the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae, this is complemented by a strong public health rationale. in this insect, resistance to pyrethroid and ddt insecticides is strongly associated with the mutations l1014f and l1014s within the para voltage-gated sodium channel (vgsc). across much of west africa, 1014f frequency approaches fixation. here, we document the emergence of a mutation, n157 ... | 2012 | 22493253 |
| selection of mosquito life-histories: a hidden weapon against malaria? | there has recently been a substantial decline in malaria incidence in much of africa. while the decline can clearly be linked to increasing coverage of mosquito vector control interventions and effective drug treatment in most settings, the ubiquity of reduction raises the possibility that additional ecological and associated evolutionary changes may be reinforcing the effectiveness of current vector control strategies in previously unanticipated ways. | 2012 | 22471997 |
| a refined estimate of the malaria burden in niger. | the health authorities of niger have implemented several malaria prevention and control programmes in recent years. these interventions broadly follow who guidelines and international recommendations and are based on interventions that have proved successful in other parts of africa. most performance indicators are satisfactory but, paradoxically, despite the mobilization of considerable human and financial resources, the malaria-fighting programme in niger seems to have stalled, as it has not y ... | 2012 | 22453027 |
| exploiting the behaviour of wild malaria vectors to achieve high infection with fungal biocontrol agents. | control of mosquitoes that transmit malaria has been the mainstay in the fight against the disease, but alternative methods are required in view of emerging insecticide resistance. entomopathogenic fungi are candidate alternatives, but to date, few trials have translated the use of these agents to field-based evaluations of their actual impact on mosquito survival and malaria risk. mineral oil-formulations of the entomopathogenic fungi metarhizium anisopliae and beauveria bassiana were applied u ... | 2012 | 22449130 |
| utilization of combined remote sensing techniques to detect environmental variables influencing malaria vector densities in rural west africa. | the use of remote sensing has found its way into the field of epidemiology within the last decades. with the increased sensor resolution of recent and future satellites new possibilities emerge for high resolution risk modeling and risk mapping. | 2012 | 22443452 |
| antibodies to malaria vaccine candidates are associated with chloroquine or sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine treatment efficacy in children in an endemic area of burkina faso. | patient immune status is thought to affect the efficacy of anti-malarial chemotherapy. this is a subject of some importance, since evidence of immunity-related interactions may influence our use of chemotherapy in populations with drug resistance, as well as assessment of the value of suboptimal vaccines. the study aim was to investigate relationship between antibodies and anti-malarial drug treatment outcomes. | 2012 | 22439695 |
| first malaria infections in a cohort of infants in benin: biological, environmental and genetic determinants. description of the study site, population methods and preliminary results. | malaria infection of the placenta during pregnancy was found to be associated with infant susceptibility to malaria. other factors such as the intensity of malaria transmission and the nutritional status of the child might also play a role, which has not been adequately taken into account in previous studies. the aim of this study was to assess precisely the parts played by environmental, nutritional and biological determinants in first malaria infections, with a special interest in the role of ... | 2012 | 22403339 |
| identification and characterization of two chitin synthase genes in african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae. | chitin synthase (chs) represents an attractive target site for combating insect pests as insect growth and development are strictly dependent on precisely tuned chitin biosynthesis and this pathway is absent in humans and other vertebrates. current knowledge on chs in insects, especially their structures, functions, and regulations is still very limited. we report the identification and characterization of two chitin synthase genes, agchs1 and agchs2, in african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambi ... | 2012 | 22683441 |
| genome organization, phylogenies, expression patterns, and three-dimensional protein models of two acetylcholinesterase genes from the red flour beetle. | since the report of a paralogous acetylcholinesterase (ache, ec3.1.1.7) gene in the greenbug (schizaphis graminum) in 2002, two different ache genes (ace1 and ace2) have been identified in each of at least 27 insect species. however, the gene models of ace1 and ace2, and their molecular properties have not yet been comprehensively analyzed in any insect species. in this study, we sequenced the full-length cdnas, computationally predicted the corresponding three-dimensional protein models, and pr ... | 2012 | 22359679 |
| intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine does not modify plasma cytokines and chemokines or intracellular cytokine responses to plasmodium falciparum in mozambican children. | cytokines and chemokines are key mediators of anti-malarial immunity. we evaluated whether intermittent preventive treatment in infants with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (ipti-sp) had an effect on the acquisition of these cellular immune responses in mozambican children. multiple cytokines and chemokines were quantified in plasma by luminex, and antigen-specific cytokine production in whole blood was determined by intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometry, at ages 5, 9, 12 and 24 months. | 2012 | 22280502 |
| dry season determinants of malaria disease and net use in benin, west africa. | to achieve malaria eradication, control efforts have to be sustained even when the incidence of malaria cases becomes low during the dry season. in this work, malaria incidence and its determinants including bed net use were investigated in children of under 5 years of age in 28 villages in southern benin during the dry season. | 2012 | 22291987 |
| changes in malaria morbidity and mortality in mpumalanga province, south africa (2001-2009): a retrospective study. | malaria remains a serious epidemic threat in mpumalanga province. in order to appropriately target interventions to achieve substantial reduction in the burden of malaria and ultimately eliminate the disease, there is a need to track progress of malaria control efforts by assessing the time trends and evaluating the impact of current control interventions. this study aimed to assess the changes in the burden of malaria in mpumalanga province during the past eight malaria seasons (2001/02 to 2008 ... | 2012 | 22239855 |
| importance of factors determining the effective lifetime of a mass, long-lasting, insecticidal net distribution: a sensitivity analysis. | long-lasting insecticidal nets (llins) reduce malaria transmission by protecting individuals from infectious bites, and by reducing mosquito survival. in recent years, millions of llins have been distributed across sub-saharan africa (ssa). over time, llins decay physically and chemically and are destroyed, making repeated interventions necessary to prevent a resurgence of malaria. because its effects on transmission are important (more so than the effects of individual protection), estimates of ... | 2012 | 22244509 |
| screening of selected ethnomedicinal plants from south africa for larvicidal activity against the mosquito anopheles arabiensis. | this study was initiated to establish whether any south african ethnomedicinal plants (indigenous or exotic), that have been reported to be used traditionally to repel or kill mosquitoes, exhibit effective mosquito larvicidal properties. | 2012 | 22963538 |
| the anopheles gambiae ce5, a tight- and fast-binding thrombin inhibitor with post-transcriptionally regulated salivary-restricted expression. | mosquito saliva carries a large number of factors with anti-hemostatic, anti-inflammatory and immuno-modulatory activities. the ce5 protein was initially identified during an anopheles gambiae salivary gland transcriptome study and later shown to share sequence similarity with anophelin, a thrombin inhibitor from the saliva of the new world mosquito anopheles albimanus. the ce5 gene was found to encode different mrna isoforms coexisting in several tissues of both male and female mosquitoes, a hi ... | 2012 | 22617725 |
| a community-wide study of malaria reduction: evaluating efficacy and user-acceptance of a low-cost repellent in northern ghana. | no mas (nm) mosquito repellent was evaluated in two farming villages (4 km apart) in the kassena nankana district of northern ghana. we determined its efficacy against local malaria vectors, degree of user acceptance, and its effect on malaria prevalence in households using insecticide-treated bed nets. the average protective efficacy of nm against anopheles mosquitoes over 9 hours was 89.6%. controls averaged 86 bites/person/night versus 9 bites/person/night with the use of nm. use of repellent ... | 2012 | 23249683 |
| a modified experimental hut design for studying responses of disease-transmitting mosquitoes to indoor interventions: the ifakara experimental huts. | differences between individual human houses can confound results of studies aimed at evaluating indoor vector control interventions such as insecticide treated nets (itns) and indoor residual insecticide spraying (irs). specially designed and standardised experimental huts have historically provided a solution to this challenge, with an added advantage that they can be fitted with special interception traps to sample entering or exiting mosquitoes. however, many of these experimental hut designs ... | 2012 | 22347415 |
| severe and uncomplicated falciparum malaria in children from three regions and three ethnic groups in cameroon: prospective study. | to identify the factors that account for differences in clinical outcomes of malaria as well as its relationship with ethnicity, transmission intensity and parasite density. | 2012 | 22727184 |
| prevalence of malaria infection in butajira area, south-central ethiopia. | in 2005, the ethiopian government launched a massive expansion of the malaria prevention and control programme. the programme was aimed mainly at the reduction of malaria in populations living below 2,000 m above sea level. global warming has been implicated in the increase in the prevalence of malaria in the highlands. however, there is still a paucity of information on the occurrence of malaria at higher altitudes. the objective of this study was to estimate malaria prevalence in highland area ... | 2012 | 22443307 |
| wind direction and proximity to larval sites determines malaria risk in kilifi district in kenya. | studies of the fine-scale spatial epidemiology of malaria consistently identify malaria hotspots, comprising clusters of homesteads at high transmission intensity. these hotspots sustain transmission, and may be targeted by malaria-control programmes. here we describe the spatial relationship between the location of anopheles larval sites and human malaria infection in a cohort study of 642 children, aged 1-10-years-old. our data suggest that proximity to larval sites predict human malaria infec ... | 2012 | 22334077 |
| factors contributing to urban malaria transmission in sub-saharan africa: a systematic review. | sub-saharan africa suffers by far the greatest malaria burden worldwide and is currently undergoing a profound demographic change, with a growing proportion of its population moving to urban areas. urbanisation is generally expected to reduce malaria transmission; however the disease still persists in african cities, in some cases at higher levels than in nearby rural areas. objective. this paper aims to collate and analyse risk factors for urban malaria transmission throughout sub-saharan afric ... | 2012 | 23125863 |
| mermithid nematodes found in adult anopheles from southeastern senegal. | over two dozen mermithid nematodes have been described parasitizing mosquitoes worldwide, however, only two species were found in africa. mermithid nematodes kill their mosquito host upon emergence, which suggests that they could be developed as biological control agents of mosquitoes. both romanomermis culicivorax and romanomermis iyengari have been reared for mass release to control numerous anopheles species vector populations, and in one instance this may have led to reduced malaria prevalen ... | 2012 | 22741946 |
| assessment of anopheles salivary antigens as individual exposure biomarkers to species-specific malaria vector bites. | malaria transmission occurs during the blood feeding of infected anopheline mosquitoes concomitant with a saliva injection into the vertebrate host. in sub-saharan africa, most malaria transmission is due to anopheles funestus s.s and to anopheles gambiae s.l. (mainly anopheles gambiae s.s. and anopheles arabiensis). several studies have demonstrated that the immune response against salivary antigens could be used to evaluate individual exposure to mosquito bites. the aim of this study was to as ... | 2012 | 23276246 |
| igg responses to the gsg6-p1 salivary peptide for evaluating human exposure to anopheles bites in urban areas of dakar region, sénégal. | urban malaria can be a serious public health problem in africa. human-landing catches of mosquitoes, a standard entomological method to assess human exposure to malaria vector bites, can lack sensitivity in areas where exposure is low. a simple and highly sensitive tool could be a complementary indicator for evaluating malaria exposure in such epidemiological contexts. the human antibody response to the specific anopheles gsg6-p1 salivary peptide have been described as an adequate tool biomarker ... | 2012 | 22424570 |
| low and seasonal malaria transmission in the middle senegal river basin: identification and characteristics of anopheles vectors. | during the last decades two dams were constructed along the senegal river. these intensified the practice of agriculture along the river valley basin. we conducted a study to assess malaria vector diversity, dynamics and malaria transmission in the area. | 2012 | 22269038 |
| analysis of ovary-specific genes in relation to egg maturation and female nutritional condition in the mosquitoes georgecraigius atropalpus and aedes aegypti (diptera: culicidae). | analysis of the reproductive physiology of anautogenous mosquitoes at the molecular level is complicated by the simultaneity of ovarian maturation and the digestion of a blood meal. in contrast to anautogenous mosquitoes, autogenous female mosquitoes can acquire greater nutrient stores as larvae and exhibit higher ovarian production of ecdysteroids at adult eclosion. these features essentially replace the role of a blood meal in provisioning the first batch of eggs and initiating egg development ... | 2012 | 23238126 |
| evidence for population-specific positive selection on immune genes of anopheles gambiae. | host-pathogen interactions can be powerful drivers of adaptive evolution, shaping the patterns of molecular variation at the genes involved. in this study, we sequenced alleles from 28 immune-related loci in wild samples of multiple genetic subpopulations of the african malaria mosquito anopheles gambiae, obtaining unprecedented sample sizes and providing the first opportunity to contrast patterns of molecular evolution at immune-related loci in the recently discovered goundry population to thos ... | 2012 | 23275874 |
| entomological indices of malaria transmission in chikhwawa district, southern malawi. | although malaria is highly prevalent throughout malawi, little is known of its transmission dynamics. this paper describes the seasonal activity of the different vectors, human biting indices, sporozoite rates and the entomological inoculation rate in a low-lying rural area in southern malawi. | 2012 | 23171123 |
| a new chromosomal phylogeny supports the repeated origin of vectorial capacity in malaria mosquitoes of the anopheles gambiae complex. | understanding phylogenetic relationships within species complexes of disease vectors is crucial for identifying genomic changes associated with the evolution of epidemiologically important traits. however, the high degree of genetic similarity among sibling species confounds the ability to determine phylogenetic relationships using molecular markers. the goal of this study was to infer the ancestral-descendant relationships among malaria vectors and nonvectors of the anopheles gambiae species co ... | 2012 | 23055932 |
| combining next-generation sequencing and microarray technology into a transcriptomics approach for the non-model organism chironomus riparius. | whole-transcriptome gene-expression analyses are commonly performed in species that have a sequenced genome and for which microarrays are commercially available. to do such analyses in species with no or limited genome data, i.e. non-model organisms, necessary transcriptomics resources, i.e. an annotated transcriptome and a validated gene-expression microarray, must first be developed. the aim of the present study was to establish an advanced approach for developing transcriptomics resources for ... | 2012 | 23133553 |
| variation in exposure to anopheles gambiae salivary gland peptide (gsg6-p1) across different malaria transmission settings in the western kenya highlands. | the existing metrics of malaria transmission are limited in sensitivity under low transmission intensity. robust surveillance systems are needed as interventions to monitor reduced transmission and prevention of rapid reintroduction. serological tools based on antibody responses to parasite and vector antigens are potential tools for transmission measurements. the current study sought to evaluate antibody responses to anopheles gambiae salivary gland peptide (gsg6- p1), as a biomarker of human e ... | 2012 | 22963464 |
| species shifts in the anopheles gambiae complex: do llins successfully control anopheles arabiensis? | high coverage of conventional and long-lasting insecticide treated nets (itns and llins) in parts of e africa are associated with reductions in local malaria burdens. shifts in malaria vector species ratio have coincided with the scale-up suggesting that some species are being controlled by itns/llins better than others. | 2012 | 22438864 |
| an affordable, quality-assured community-based system for high-resolution entomological surveillance of vector mosquitoes that reflects human malaria infection risk patterns. | more sensitive and scalable entomological surveillance tools are required to monitor low levels of transmission that are increasingly common across the tropics, particularly where vector control has been successful. a large-scale larviciding programme in urban dar es salaam, tanzania is supported by a community-based (cb) system for trapping adult mosquito densities to monitor programme performance. | 2012 | 22624853 |
| cysteine peptidases and their inhibitors in tetranychus urticae: a comparative genomic approach. | cysteine peptidases in the two-spotted spider mite tetranychus urticae are involved in essential physiological processes, including proteolytic digestion. cystatins and thyropins are inhibitors of cysteine peptidases that modulate their activity, although their function in this species has yet to be investigated. comparative genomic analyses are powerful tools to obtain advanced knowledge into the presence and evolution of both, peptidases and their inhibitors, and could aid to elucidate issues ... | 2012 | 22784002 |
| malaria transmission after five years of vector control on bioko island, equatorial guinea. | malaria is endemic with year-round transmission on bioko island. the bioko island malaria control project (bimcp) started in 2004 with the aim to reduce malaria transmission and to ultimately eliminate malaria. while the project has been successful in reducing overall malaria morbidity and mortality, foci of high malaria transmission still persist on the island. results from the 2009 entomological collections are reported here. | 2012 | 23146423 |
| human exposure to anopheline mosquitoes occurs primarily indoors, even for users of insecticide-treated nets in luangwa valley, south-east zambia. | current front line malaria vector control methods such as indoor residual spraying (irs) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (llins), rely upon the preference of many primary vectors to feed and/or rest inside human habitations where they can be targeted with domestically-applied insecticidal products. we studied the human biting behaviour of the malaria vector anopheles funestus giles and the potential malaria vector anopheles quadriannulatus theobald in luangwa valley, south-east zambia. | 2012 | 22647493 |
| mapping the receptivity of malaria risk to plan the future of control in somalia. | to measure the receptive risks of malaria in somalia and compare decisions on intervention scale-up based on this map and the more widely used contemporary risk maps. | 2012 | 22855625 |
| analysis of genes expression of spodoptera exigua larvae upon acmnpv infection. | the impact of autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (acmnpv) infection on host gene expression in spodoptera exigua 4th instar larvae was investigated through the use of 454 sequencing-based rna-seq of cdna libraries developed from insects challenged with active acmnpv or heat-inactivated acmnpv. | 2012 | 22860129 |
| increased risks of malaria due to limited residual life of insecticide and outdoor biting versus protection by combined use of nets and indoor residual spraying on bioko island, equatorial guinea. | malaria is endemic on bioko island, equatorial guinea, with year-round transmission. in 2004 an intensive malaria control strategy primarily based on indoor residual spraying (irs) was launched. the limited residual life of irs poses particular challenges in a setting with year-round transmission, such as bioko. recent reports of outdoor biting by anopheles gambiae are an additional cause for concern. in this study, the effect of the short residual life of bendiocarb insecticide and of children ... | 2012 | 22835049 |
| identification of distant agouti-like sequences and re-evaluation of the evolutionary history of the agouti-related peptide (agrp). | the agouti-like peptides including agrp, asip and the teleost-specific a2 (asip2 and agrp2) peptides have potent and diverse functional roles in feeding, pigmentation and background adaptation mechanisms. there are contradictory theories about the evolution of the agouti-like peptide family as well the nomenclature. here we performed comprehensive mining and annotation of vertebrate agouti-like sequences. we identified a2 sequences from salmon, trout, seabass, cod, cichlid, tilapia, gilt-headed ... | 2012 | 22815886 |
| thermal limits of wild and laboratory strains of two african malaria vector species, anopheles arabiensis and anopheles funestus. | malaria affects large parts of the developing world and is responsible for almost 800,000 deaths annually. as climates change, concerns have arisen as to how this vector-borne disease will be impacted by changing rainfall patterns and warming temperatures. despite the importance and controversy surrounding the impact of climate change on the potential spread of this disease, little information exists on the tolerances of several of the vector species themselves. | 2012 | 22770378 |
| megabase-scale inversion polymorphism in the wild ancestor of maize. | chromosomal inversions are thought to play a special role in local adaptation, through dramatic suppression of recombination, which favors the maintenance of locally adapted alleles. however, relatively few inversions have been characterized in population genomic data. on the basis of single-nucleotide polymorphism (snp) genotyping across a large panel of zea mays, we have identified an ∼50-mb region on the short arm of chromosome 1 where patterns of polymorphism are highly consistent with a pol ... | 2012 | 22542971 |
| the complete mitochondrial genomes of two ghost moths, thitarodes renzhiensis and thitarodes yunnanensis: the ancestral gene arrangement in lepidoptera. | lepidoptera encompasses more than 160,000 described species that have been classified into 45-48 superfamilies. the previously determined lepidoptera mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) are limited to six superfamilies of the lineage ditrysia. compared with the ancestral insect gene order, these mitogenomes all contain a trna rearrangement. to gain new insights into lepidoptera mitogenome evolution, we sequenced the mitogenomes of two ghost moths that belong to the non-ditrysian lineage hepialoi ... | 2012 | 22726496 |
| reliability of rapid diagnostic tests in diagnosing pregnancy-associated malaria in north-eastern tanzania. | accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment of pregnancy-associated malaria (pam) are key aspects in averting adverse pregnancy outcomes. microscopy is the gold standard in malaria diagnosis, but it has limited detection and availability. when used appropriately, rapid diagnostic tests (rdts) could be an ideal diagnostic complement to microscopy, due to their ease of use and adequate sensitivity in detecting even sub-microscopic infections. polymerase chain reaction (pcr) is even more sensitive, but ... | 2012 | 22720788 |
| airflow attenuation and bed net utilization: observations from africa and asia. | qualitative studies suggest that bed nets affect the thermal comfort of users. to understand and reduce this discomfort the effect of bed nets on temperature, humidity, and airflow was measured in rural homes in asia and africa, as well as in an experimental wind tunnel. two investigators with architectural training selected 60 houses in the gambia, tanzania, philippines, and thailand. data-loggers were used to measure indoor temperatures in hourly intervals over a 12 months period. in a subgrou ... | 2012 | 22704585 |
| sustainable malaria control: transdisciplinary approaches for translational applications. | with the adoption of the global malaria action plan, several countries are moving from malaria control towards elimination and eradication. however, the sustainability of some of the approaches taken may be questionable. here, an overview of malaria control and elimination strategies is provided and the sustainability of each in context of vector- and parasite control is assessed. from this, it can be concluded that transdisciplinary approaches are essential for sustained malaria control and eli ... | 2012 | 23268712 |
| the feasibility of malaria elimination in south africa. | following the last major malaria epidemic in 2000, malaria incidence in south africa has declined markedly. the decrease has been so emphatic that south africa now meets the world health organization (who) threshold for malaria elimination. given the millennium development goal of reversing the spread of malaria by 2015, south africa is being urged to adopt an elimination agenda. this study aimed to determine the appropriateness of implementing a malaria elimination programme in present day sout ... | 2012 | 23253091 |
| the fitness of african malaria vectors in the presence and limitation of host behaviour. | host responses are important sources of selection upon the host species range of ectoparasites and phytophagous insects. however little is known about the role of host responses in defining the host species range of malaria vectors. this study aimed to estimate the relative importance of host behaviour to the feeding success and fitness of african malaria vectors, and assess its ability to predict their known host species preferences in nature. | 2012 | 23253167 |
| anopheline larval habitats seasonality and species distribution: a prerequisite for effective targeted larval habitats control programmes. | larval control is of paramount importance in the reduction of malaria vector abundance and subsequent disease transmission reduction. understanding larval habitat succession and its ecology in different land use managements and cropping systems can give an insight for effective larval source management practices. this study investigated larval habitat succession and ecological parameters which influence larval abundance in malaria epidemic prone areas of western kenya. | 2012 | 23272215 |
| directionally selected cytochrome p450 alleles are driving the spread of pyrethroid resistance in the major malaria vector anopheles funestus. | pyrethroid insecticides are critical for malaria control in africa. however, resistance to this insecticide class in the malaria vector anopheles funestus is spreading rapidly across africa, threatening the success of ongoing and future malaria control programs. the underlying resistance mechanisms driving the spread of this resistance in wild populations remain largely unknown. here, we show that increased expression of two tandemly duplicated p450 genes, cyp6p9a and cyp6p9b, is the main mechan ... | 2012 | 23248325 |
| malaria parasite diversity and transmission intensity affect development of parasitological immunity in a mathematical model. | the development of parasitological immunity against malaria affects the ability to detect infection, the efficiency of the local human parasite reservoir at infecting mosquitoes, and the response to reintroduction of parasites to previously cleared areas. observations of similar age-trends in detected prevalence and mean parasitaemia across more than an order-of-magnitude of variation in baseline transmission complicate simple exposure-driven explanations. | 2012 | 23241282 |
| biochemical characterization of chitin synthase activity and inhibition in the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae. | chitin synthase (chs) is an important enzyme catalyzing the formation of chitin polymers in all chitin containing organisms and a potential target site for insect pest control. however, our understanding of biochemical properties of insect chss has been very limited. we here report enzymatic and inhibitory properties of chs prepared from the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae. our study, which represents the first time to use a nonradioactive method to assay chs activity in an insect sp ... | 2012 | 23955856 |
| use of a mixture statistical model in studying malaria vectors density. | vector control is a major step in the process of malaria control and elimination. this requires vector counts and appropriate statistical analyses of these counts. however, vector counts are often overdispersed. a non-parametric mixture of poisson model (npmp) is proposed to allow for overdispersion and better describe vector distribution. mosquito collections using the human landing catches as well as collection of environmental and climatic data were carried out from january to december 2009 i ... | 2012 | 23185626 |
| implications of bio-efficacy and persistence of insecticides when indoor residual spraying and long-lasting insecticide nets are combined for malaria prevention. | bio-efficacy and residual activity of insecticides used for indoor residual spraying (irs) and long-lasting insecticide nets (llins) were assessed against laboratory-reared and wild populations of the malaria vector, anopheles arabiensis in south eastern tanzania. implications of the findings are examined in the context of potential synergies and redundancies where irs and llins are combined. | 2012 | 23164062 |
| biochemical characterization of anopheles gambiae srpn6, a malaria parasite invasion marker in mosquitoes. | serine proteinase inhibitors of the serpin family are well known as negative regulators of hemostasis, thrombolysis and innate immune responses. additionally, non-inhibitory serpins serve functions as chaperones, hormone transporters, or anti-angiogenic factors. in the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae s.s., at least three serpins (srpns) are implicated in the innate immune response against malaria parasites. based on reverse genetic and cell biological analyses, agsrpn6 limits parasit ... | 2012 | 23152794 |
| impact of pyrethroid resistance on operational malaria control in malawi. | the impact of insecticide resistance on insect-borne disease programs is difficult to quantify. the possibility of eliminating malaria in high-transmission settings is heavily dependent on effective vector control reducing disease transmission rates. pyrethroids are the dominant insecticides used for malaria control, with few options for their replacement. their failure will adversely affect our ability to control malaria. pyrethroid resistance has been selected in malawi over the last 3 y in th ... | 2012 | 23118337 |
| simulation of malaria epidemiology and control in the highlands of western kenya. | models of plasmodium falciparum malaria epidemiology that provide realistic quantitative predictions of likely epidemiological outcomes of existing vector control strategies have the potential to assist in planning for the control and elimination of malaria. this work investigates the applicability of mathematical modelling of malaria transmission dynamics in rachuonyo south, a district with low, unstable transmission in the highlands of western kenya. | 2012 | 23107070 |
| characterization of a chitin synthase encoding gene and effect of diflubenzuron in soybean aphid, aphis glycines. | chitin synthases are critical enzymes for synthesis of chitin and thus for subsequent growth and development in insects. we identified the cdna of chitin synthase gene (chs) in aphis glycines, the soybean aphid, which is a serious pest of soybean. the full-length cdna of chs in a. glycines (aychs) was 5802 bp long with an open reading frame of 4704 bp that encoded for a 1567 amino acid residues protein. the predicted aychs protein had a molecular mass of 180.05 kda and its amino acid sequence co ... | 2012 | 23139631 |
| the effects of oviposition-site deprivation on anopheles gambiae reproduction. | the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae, depends on availability of suitable surface water for oviposition. short and long dry spells occur throughout the year in many parts of its range that limit its access to oviposition sites. although not well understood, oviposition-site deprivation has been found to rapidly reduce egg batch size and hatch rate of several mosquito species. we conducted laboratory experiments to assess these effects of oviposition-site deprivation on an. gambiae and ... | 2012 | 23072301 |
| reconsideration of anopheles rivulorum as a vector of plasmodium falciparum in western kenya: some evidence from biting time, blood preference, sporozoite positive rate, and pyrethroid resistance. | anopheles gambiae, an. arabiensis, and an. funestus are widespread malaria vectors in africa. anopheles rivulorum is the next most widespread species in the an. funestus group. the role of an. rivulorum as a malaria vector has not been fully studied, although it has been found to be a minor or opportunistic transmitter of plasmodium falciparum. | 2012 | 23050856 |
| human antibody response to anopheles saliva for comparing the efficacy of three malaria vector control methods in balombo, angola. | human antibody (ab) response to anopheles whole saliva, used as biomarker of anopheles exposure, was investigated over a period of two years (2008-2009), in children between 2 to 9 years old, before and after the introduction of three different malaria vector control methods; deltamethrin treated long lasting impregnated nets (llin) and insecticide treated plastic sheeting (itps)--zero fly®) (itps-zf), deltamethrin impregnated durable (wall) lining (itps-dl--zerovector®) alone, and indoor residu ... | 2012 | 23028499 |
| the development of insecticide-treated durable wall lining for malaria control: insights from rural and urban populations in angola and nigeria. | durable lining (dl) is a deltamethrin-impregnated polyethylene material, which is designed to cover domestic walls that would normally be sprayed with residual insecticide. the operational success of dl as a long-lasting insecticidal substrate will be dependent on a high level of user acceptability as households must maintain correctly installed linings on their walls for several years. preliminary trials were undertaken to identify a material to develop into a marketable wall lining and to asse ... | 2012 | 22989007 |
| the efficacy of vectron 20 wp, etofenprox, for indoor residual spraying in areas of high vector resistance to pyrethroids and organochlorines in zambia. | the selection of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors has the potential to compromise any insecticide-based vector control programme. to ensure that the insecticides used for indoor residual spraying and insecticide-treated nets in zambia remain effective and their choice is evidence based, insecticide resistance surveillance and monitoring are essential. this study assessed and compared the residual efficacy of etofenprox (vectron 20 wp), an ether pyrethroid, at 0.1 g/m(2) with pyrethroids ... | 2012 | 24967135 |
| population genetic structure of the malaria vector anopheles funestus, in a recently re-colonized area of the senegal river basin and human-induced environmental changes. | anopheles funestus is one of the major malaria vectors in tropical africa. because of several cycles of drought events that occurred during the 1970s, this species had disappeared from many parts of sahelian africa, including the senegal river basin. however, this zone has been re-colonized during the last decade by an. funestus, following the implementation of two dams on the senegal river. previous studies in that area revealed heterogeneity at the biological and chromosomal level among these ... | 2012 | 22950576 |
| positional cloning of rp2 qtl associates the p450 genes cyp6z1, cyp6z3 and cyp6m7 with pyrethroid resistance in the malaria vector anopheles funestus. | pyrethroid resistance in anopheles funestus is threatening malaria control in africa. elucidation of underlying resistance mechanisms is crucial to improve the success of future control programs. a positional cloning approach was used to identify genes conferring resistance in the uncharacterised rp2 quantitative trait locus (qtl) previously detected in this vector using f6 advanced intercross lines (ail). a 113 kb bac clone spanning rp2 was identified and sequenced revealing a cluster of 15 p45 ... | 2012 | 22948188 |
| real-time pcr assay for discrimination of plasmodium ovale curtisi and plasmodium ovale wallikeri in the ivory coast and in the comoros islands. | plasmodium ovale is one of the five malaria species infecting humans. recent data have shown that the name of this neglected species masks two distinct genotypes also called curtisi and wallikeri. some authors show that these species could be sympatric. these two subspecies are not differentiated by microscopy techniques and malaria rapid diagnostic tests. this diagnostic defect is the result of low parasitaemia, antigenic polymorphism and absence of antibodies performance and requires the use o ... | 2012 | 22947418 |
| malaria control in south africa 2000-2010: beyond mdg6. | malaria is one of the key targets within goal 6 of the millennium development goals (mdgs), whereby the disease needs to be halted and reversed by the year 2015. several other international targets have been set, however the mdgs are universally accepted, hence it is the focus of this manuscript. | 2012 | 22913727 |
| anticholinesterase insecticide retrospective. | the anticholinesterase (antiche) organophosphorus (op) and methylcarbamate (mc) insecticides have been used very effectively as contact and systemic plant protectants for seven decades. about 90 of these compounds are still in use - the largest number for any insecticide chemotype or mode of action. in both insects and mammals, ache inhibition and acetylcholine accumulation leads to excitation and death. the cholinergic system of insects is located centrally (where it is protected from ionized o ... | 2012 | 22926007 |
| candidate chemosensory genes in female antennae of the noctuid moth spodoptera littoralis. | chemical senses are crucial for all organisms to detect various environmental information. different protein families, expressed in chemosensory organs, are involved in the detection of this information, such as odorant-binding proteins, olfactory and gustatory receptors, and ionotropic receptors. we recently reported an expressed sequence tag (est) approach on male antennae of the noctuid moth, spodoptera littoralis, with which we could identify a large array of chemosensory genes in a species ... | 2012 | 22904672 |
| modeling the role of environmental variables on the population dynamics of the malaria vector anopheles gambiae sensu stricto. | the impact of weather and climate on malaria transmission has attracted considerable attention in recent years, yet uncertainties around future disease trends under climate change remain. mathematical models provide powerful tools for addressing such questions and understanding the implications for interventions and eradication strategies, but these require realistic modeling of the vector population dynamics and its response to environmental variables. | 2012 | 22877154 |
| pyrethroid resistance in anopheles gambiae s.s. and anopheles arabiensis in western kenya: phenotypic, metabolic and target site characterizations of three populations. | field and laboratory investigations revealed phenotypic, target site and metabolic resistance to permethrin in an anopheles gambiae s.s. (diptera: culicidae) population in bungoma district, a region in western kenya in which malaria is endemic and rates of ownership of insecticide-treated bednets are high. the sensitivity of individual an. gambiae s.l. females as indicated in assays using world health organization (who) test kits demonstrated reduced mortality in response to permethrin, deltamet ... | 2012 | 22861380 |
| malaria in east african highlands during the past 30 years: impact of environmental changes. | east african highlands are one of the most populated regions in africa. the population densities in the highlands ranged between 158 persons/km(2) in ethiopia and 410 persons/km(2) in rwanda. according to the united nations population fund, the region has the world's highest population growth rate. these factors are likely behind the high rates of poverty among the populations. as there were no employment opportunities other than agricultural, this demographic pressure of poor populations have i ... | 2012 | 22934065 |
| change in composition of the anopheles gambiae complex and its possible implications for the transmission of malaria and lymphatic filariasis in north-eastern tanzania. | a dramatic decline in the incidence of malaria due to plasmodium falciparum infection in coastal east africa has recently been reported to be paralleled (or even preceded) by an equally dramatic decline in malaria vector density, despite absence of organized vector control. as part of investigations into possible causes for the change in vector population density, the present study analysed the anopheles gambiae s.l. sibling species composition in north-eastern tanzania. | 2012 | 22681999 |
| population genetic structure of the major malaria vector anopheles funestus s.s. and allied species in southern africa. | anopheles funestus s.s., one of the major malaria vectors in sub-saharan africa, belongs to a group of eleven african species that are morphologically similar at the adult stage, most of which do not transmit malaria. the population structure of an. funestus based on mitochondrial dna data led to the description of two cryptic subdivisions, clade i widespread throughout africa and clade ii known only from mozambique and madagascar. in this study, we investigated five common members of the anophe ... | 2012 | 23216696 |
| rickettsia species in african anopheles mosquitoes. | there is higher rate of r. felis infection among febrile patients than in healthy people in sub-saharan africa, predominantly in the rainy season. mosquitoes possess a high vectorial capacity and, because of their abundance and aggressiveness, likely play a role in rickettsial epidemiology. | 2012 | 23118963 |
| identification of wolbachia strains in mosquito disease vectors. | wolbachia bacteria are common endosymbionts of insects, and some strains are known to protect their hosts against rna viruses and other parasites. this has led to the suggestion that releasing wolbachia-infected mosquitoes could prevent the transmission of arboviruses and other human parasites. we have identified wolbachia in kenyan populations of the yellow fever vector aedes bromeliae and its relative aedes metallicus, and in mansonia uniformis and mansonia africana, which are vectors of lymph ... | 2012 | 23185484 |
| malaria vectors in lake victoria and adjacent habitats in western kenya. | the prevalence of malaria among the residents of the lake victoria basin remains high. the environment associated with the lake may maintain a high number of malaria vectors. lake habitats including water hyacinths have been suspected to be the source of vectors. this study investigated whether malaria vectors breed in the lake habitats and adjacent backwater pools. anopheline larvae were collected within the littoral zone of the lake and adjacent pools located along approximately 24.3 km of the ... | 2012 | 22412913 |
| multicentre studies of insecticide-treated durable wall lining in africa and south-east asia: entomological efficacy and household acceptability during one year of field use. | indoor residual spraying (irs) is a primary method of malaria vector control, but its potential impact is constrained by several inherent limitations: spraying must be repeated when insecticide residues decay, householders can tire of the annual imposition and campaign costs are recurrent. durable lining (dl) can be considered an advanced form of long-lasting irs where insecticide is gradually released from an aesthetically attractive wall lining material to provide vector control for several ye ... | 2012 | 23107112 |
| the effects of urbanization on global plasmodium vivax malaria transmission. | many recent studies have examined the impact of urbanization on plasmodium falciparum malaria endemicity and found a general trend of reduced transmission in urban areas. however, none has examined the effect of urbanization on plasmodium vivax malaria, which is the most widely distributed malaria species and can also cause severe clinical syndromes in humans. in this study, a set of 10,003 community-based p. vivax parasite rate (pvpr) surveys are used to explore the relationships between pvpr i ... | 2012 | 23217010 |
| some like it cool: the effect of ambient temperature on the size of anopheles funestus from southern mozambique. | the wing lengths of 3,553 unfed, recently emerged, and 13,256 gravid female anopheles funestus giles from exit collections, undertaken between march 2004 and may 2005, were measured. only in the warmest months were mean wing lengths of unfed females significantly smaller than gravid females. mean wing lengths of unfed, females varied from 2.26 mm (bootstrap 95% ci [2.25-2.27]) in january when mean air temperatures were 24.8 degrees c to 2.70 mm (bootstrap 95% ci [2.68-2.72]) in july when mean te ... | 2012 | 23025198 |