Publications

evaluation of a protocol for remote identification of mosquito vector species reveals bg-sentinel trap as an efficient tool for anopheles gambiae outdoor collection in burkina faso.	feasibility and costs of monitoring efforts aimed to monitor mosquito species are strictly dependent on the presence of skilled entomologists directly in the field. however, in several contexts this is not possible or easy to organize, thus limiting the possibility to obtain crucial information on presence/abundance of potential disease vectors and of new invasive species. digital imaging approaches could be extremely useful in the frame of medical entomology to overcome this limit. this work de ...	2015	25888896
the past, present and future use of epidemiological intelligence to plan malaria vector control and parasite prevention in uganda.	an important prelude to developing strategies to control infectious diseases is a detailed epidemiological evidence platform to target cost-effective interventions and define resource needs.	2015	25888989
an assessment of participatory integrated vector management for malaria control in kenya.	the world health organization (who) recommends integrated vector management (ivm) as a strategy to improve and sustain malaria vector control. however, this approach has not been widely adopted.	2015	25859686
discovery of an oviposition attractant for gravid malaria vectors of the anopheles gambiae species complex.	new strategies are needed to manage malaria vector populations that resist insecticides and bite outdoors. this study describes a breakthrough in developing 'attract and kill' strategies targeting gravid females by identifying and evaluating an oviposition attractant for anopheles gambiae s.l.	2015	25885703
investigating the acceptability of non-mesh, long-lasting insecticidal nets amongst nomadic communities in garissa county, kenya using a prospective, longitudinal study design and cross-sectional household surveys.	north east kenya is an area of semi-arid terrain, prone to malaria epidemics. the distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (llins) has long been a key malaria intervention, however, for nomadic populations who live and sleep outside, in harsh climates and areas with increasing reports of exophagic behaviour of mosquitoes, traditional llins are often inadequate. this study investigates the acceptability of non-mesh llins, specifically designed to suit nomadic, outdoor sleeping communities.	2015	25652420
malaria incidence and assessment of entomological indices among resettled communities in ethiopia: a longitudinal study.	population resettlement has been considered among factors that may increase risk of malaria transmission. this study reports, the impact of resettlement on malaria incidence and entomological indices among communities resettled in suburbs of jimma town, southwestern ethiopia.	2015	25626598
transmission indices and microfilariae prevalence in human population prior to mass drug administration with ivermectin and albendazole in the gomoa district of ghana.	the lymphatic filariasis elimination programme in ghana involves annual mass drug administration (mda) of ivermectin and albendazole to persons living in endemic areas. this is repeated annually for 4-6 years to span across the reproductive lifespan of adult worms. in order to stimulate participation of community members in the mda programme, this study was carried out to understand local views on transmission, management and prevention of the disease. the study also presents baseline transmissi ...	2015	26503363
insect-specific viruses and their potential impact on arbovirus transmission.	arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are the causative agents of significant morbidity and mortality among humans and animals globally. in the past few years, the widespread adoption of next generation sequencing and metagenomics has led to a new era of virus discovery, where many novel viruses have been documented, exhibiting a restricted host-range in mosquitoes. they represent a wide-range of insect-specific viruses within the families of bunyaviridae, flaviviridae, mesoniviridae, reoviridae ...	2015	26322695
zika virus: a review from the virus basics to proposed management strategies.	this review aims to summarize the body of knowledge available on zika virus to date. a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on zika virus was performed with the aim to stress relevant aspects for healthcare professionals in the non-endemic areas. for several years, the zika virus infection was considered an extremely rare exotic disease with poor clinical relevance. however, zika virus has recently gained the attention of the scientific community and public opinion since the virus s ...	2016	27872736
susceptibility status of anopheles arabiensis (diptera: culicidae) commonly used as biological materials for evaluations of malaria vector control tools in madagascar.	madagascar is a malaria-endemic country with an increase in cases in recent years. in vector control using insecticide, a susceptible strain is necessary to evaluate insecticide efficacy, either for spraying or on nets. the susceptibility of anopheles arabiensis from antananarivo, madagascar to two organophosphate, three pyrethroid, two carbamate, and one organochlorine insecticides was investigated. since 2010, an. arabiensis strain has been maintained away from insecticide source during 110 ge ...	2016	27364163
haemosporidian parasites of antelopes and other vertebrates from gabon, central africa.	re-examination, using molecular tools, of the diversity of haemosporidian parasites (among which the agents of human malaria are the best known) has generally led to rearrangements of traditional classifications. in this study, we explored the diversity of haemosporidian parasites infecting vertebrate species (particularly mammals, birds and reptiles) living in the forests of gabon (central africa), by analyzing a collection of 492 bushmeat samples. we found that samples from five mammalian spec ...	2016	26863304
arbovirus and insect-specific virus discovery in kenya by novel six genera multiplex high-resolution melting analysis.	a broad diversity of arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) of global health concern are endemic to east africa, yet most surveillance efforts are limited to just a few key viral pathogens. additionally, estimates of arbovirus diversity in the tropics are likely to be underestimated as their discovery has lagged significantly over past decades due to limitations in fast and sensitive arbovirus identification methods. here, we developed a nearly pan-arbovirus detection assay that uses high-resolut ...	2016	27482633
detection of plasmodium falciparum infection in anopheles squamosus (diptera: culicidae) in an area targeted for malaria elimination, southern zambia.	southern zambia is the focus of strategies to create malaria-free zones. interventions being rolled out include test and treat strategies and distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets that target vectors that host-seek indoors and late at night. in macha, choma district, collections of mosquitoes were made outdoors using barrier screens within homesteads or uv bulb light traps set next to goats, cattle, or chickens during the rainy season of 2015. anopheline mosquitoes were identified to spec ...	2016	27297214
malaria epidemiological research in the republic of congo.	reliable and comprehensive information on the burden of malaria is critical for guiding national and international efforts in malaria control. the purpose of this review is to provide an overview of published data and available information on malaria resulting from field studies/investigations conducted in the republic of congo (roc) from 1992 to 2015, as baseline for assisting public health authorities and researchers to define future research priorities as well as interventions.	2016	28010728
effect of deforestation and land use changes on mosquito productivity and development in western kenya highlands: implication for malaria risk.	african highlands were known to be free of malaria for the past 50 years. however, the ever growing human population in the highlands of africa has led to the deforestation and land coverage changes to create space for more land for cultivation, grazing, and house construction materials needs. this has lead to the creation of suitable breeding habitats, which are in open places. decrease of canopy and forest cover has led to increased temperature both in outdoors and indoors in deforested areas. ...	2016	27833907
similar trends of susceptibility in anopheles arabiensis and anopheles pharoensis to plasmodium vivax infection in ethiopia.	around half of the global population is living in areas at risk of malaria infection. plasmodium vivax malaria has become increasingly prevalent and responsible for a high health and socio-economic burden in ethiopia. the availability of gametocyte carriers and mosquito species susceptible to p. vivax infection are vital for malaria transmission. determining the susceptibility of vector species to parasite infection in space and time is important in vector control programs. this study assesses t ...	2016	27756355
composition and genetics of malaria vector populations in the central african republic.	in many african countries malaria has declined sharply due to a synergy of actions marked by the introduction of vector control strategies, but the disease remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in central african republic (car). an entomological study was initiated with the aim to characterize the malaria vectors in bangui, the capital of car, and determine their vector competence.	2016	27456078
chicken volatiles repel host-seeking malaria mosquitoes.	anopheles arabiensis is a dominant vector of malaria in sub-saharan africa, which feeds indoors and outdoors on human and other vertebrate hosts, making it a difficult species to control with existing control methods. novel methods that reduce human-vector interactions are, therefore, required to improve the impact of vector control programmes. investigating the mechanisms underlying the host discrimination process in an. arabiensis could provide valuable knowledge leading to the development of ...	2016	27439360
integrated analysis of environment, cattle and human serological data: risks and mechanisms of transmission of rift valley fever in madagascar.	rift valley fever (rvf) is a vector-borne disease affecting ruminants and humans. madagascar was heavily affected by rvf in 2008-2009, with evidence of a large and heterogeneous spread of the disease. the identification of at-risk environments is essential to optimize the available resources by targeting rvf surveillance in madagascar. herein, the objectives of our study were: (i) to identify the environmental factors and areas favorable to rvf transmission to both cattle and human and (ii) to i ...	2016	27415438
evaluation of a topical formulation of eprinomectin against anopheles arabiensis when administered to zebu cattle (bos indicus) under field conditions.	although vector control strategies, such as insecticide-treated bed nets (itns) and indoor residual spraying (irs) have been effective in kenya the transmission of malaria continues to afflict western kenya. this residual transmission is driven in part by anopheles arabiensis, known for its opportunistic blood feeding behaviour and propensity to feed outdoors. the objective of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of the drug eprinomectin at reducing malaria vector density when applied to c ...	2016	27317557
mosquito host choices on livestock amplifiers of rift valley fever virus in kenya.	animal hosts may vary in their attraction and acceptability as components of the host location process for assessing preference, and biting rates of vectors and risk of exposure to pathogens. however, these parameters remain poorly understood for mosquito vectors of the rift valley fever (rvf), an arboviral disease, and for a community of mosquitoes.	2016	27036889
seasonal dynamics, longevity, and biting activity of anopheline mosquitoes in southwestern ethiopia.	continuous monitoring of vector species composition, abundance, dynamics, feeding pattern, and host finding strategy is the base to determine when, what, and how control should be implemented. thus, this study was conducted to assess entomological parameters of anopheline mosquitoes in nine villages in seka district, southwestern ethiopia, from june to december 2012. mosquito collection was carried out from selected households in each of the nine study villages using light trap catches from june ...	2016	26798142
an ecological assessment of the pandemic threat of zika virus.	the current outbreak of zika virus poses a severe threat to human health. while the range of the virus has been cataloged growing slowly over the last 50 years, the recent explosive expansion in the americas indicates that the full potential distribution of zika remains uncertain. moreover, many studies rely on its similarity to dengue fever, a phylogenetically closely related disease of unknown ecological comparability. here we compile a comprehensive spatially-explicit occurrence dataset from ...	2016	27564232
high prevalence of west nile virus in domestic birds and detection in 2 new mosquito species in madagascar.	west nile virus is an arthropod-borne zoonosis transmitted by a large number of mosquito species, and birds play a key role as reservoir of the virus. its distribution is largely widespread over africa, asia, the americas and europe. since 1978, it has frequently been reported in madagascar. studies described a high seroprevalence level of the virus in humans in different areas of the island and a human fatal case of wnv infection was reported in 2011. despite these reports, the epidemiology of ...	2016	26807720
composition and genetic diversity of mosquitoes (diptera: culicidae) on islands and mainland shores of kenya's lakes victoria and baringo.	the lake baringo and lake victoria regions of kenya are associated with high seroprevalence of mosquito-transmitted arboviruses. however, molecular identification of potential mosquito vector species, including morphologically identified ones, remains scarce. to estimate the diversity, abundance, and distribution of mosquito vectors on the mainland shores and adjacent inhabited islands in these regions, we collected and morphologically identified adult and immature mosquitoes and obtained the co ...	2016	27402888
scoping review of the zika virus literature.	the global primary literature on zika virus (zikv) (n = 233 studies and reports, up to march 1, 2016) has been compiled using a scoping review methodology to systematically identify and characterise the literature underpinning this broad topic using methods that are documented, updateable and reproducible. our results indicate that more than half the primary literature on zikv has been published since 2011. the articles mainly covered three topic categories: epidemiology of zikv (surveillance an ...	2016	27244249
zika virus: the latest newcomer.	since the beginning of this century, humanity has been facing a new emerging, or re-emerging, virus threat almost every year: west nile, influenza a, avian flu, dengue, chikungunya, sars, mers, ebola, and now zika, the latest newcomer. zika virus (zikv), a flavivirus transmitted by aedes mosquitoes, was identified in 1947 in a sentinel monkey in uganda, and later on in humans in nigeria. the virus was mainly confined to the african continent until it was detected in south-east asia the 1980's, t ...	2016	27148186
review of west nile virus circulation and outbreak risk in madagascar: entomological and ornithological perspectives.	west nile fever (wnf) is a zoonotic disease, occurring nearly globally. in madagascar, west nile virus (wnv) was first detected in 1978 from wild birds and the virus is currently distributed across the island, but no epidemic or epizootic period has been recorded. one fatal human case of wnv infection was reported in 2011, suggesting a "tip of the iceberg" phenomenon of a possible wnf epidemic/epizootic on the island. the main objective of this literature-based survey is to review patterns of wn ...	2016	27849515
commensal viruses of mosquitoes: host restriction, transmission, and interaction with arboviral pathogens.	recent advances in virus detection strategies and deep sequencing technologies have enabled the identification of a multitude of new viruses that persistently infect mosquitoes but do not infect vertebrates. these are usually referred to as insect-specific viruses (isvs). these novel viruses have generated considerable interest in their modes of transmission, persistence in mosquito populations, the mechanisms that restrict their host range to mosquitoes, and their interactions with pathogens tr ...	2017	28096646
zika virus: an updated review of competent or naturally infected mosquitoes.	zika virus (zikv) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) that recently caused outbreaks in the americas. over the past 60 years, this virus has been observed circulating among african, asian, and pacific island populations, but little attention has been paid by the scientific community until the discovery that large-scale urban zikv outbreaks were associated with neurological complications such as microcephaly and several other neurological malformations in fetuses and newborns. this paper is a ...	2017	29145400
indoor and outdoor malaria vector surveillance in western kenya: implications for better understanding of residual transmission.	the widespread use of indoor-based malaria vector control interventions has been shown to alter the behaviour of vectors in africa. there is an increasing concern that such changes could sustain residual transmission. this study was conducted to assess vector species composition, feeding behaviour and their contribution to indoor and outdoor malaria transmission in western kenya.	2017	29110670
composition of anopheles mosquitoes, their blood-meal hosts, and plasmodium falciparum infection rates in three islands with disparate bed net coverage in lake victoria, kenya.	small islands serve as potential malaria reservoirs through which new infections might come to the mainland and may be important targets in malaria elimination efforts. this study investigated malaria vector species diversity, blood-meal hosts, plasmodium infection rates, and long-lasting insecticidal net (llin) coverage on mageta, magare and ngodhe islands of lake victoria in western kenya, a region where extensive vector control is implemented on the mainland.	2017	28886724
exploring the potential of using cattle for malaria vector surveillance and control: a pilot study in western kenya.	malaria vector mosquitoes with exophilic and zoophilic tendencies, or with a high acceptance of alternative blood meal sources when preferred human blood-hosts are unavailable, may help maintain low but constant malaria transmission in areas where indoor vector control has been scaled up. this residual transmission might be addressed by targeting vectors outside the house. here we investigated the potential of insecticide-treated cattle, as routinely used for control of tsetse and ticks in east ...	2017	28069065
efficient method for establishing f1 progeny from wild populations of anopheles mosquitoes.	the changing malaria situation in madagascar requires additional knowledge on the physiology and behaviour of local mosquito vectors. however, the absence of established colonies for several anopheline species present in madagascar constitutes a limiting factor. to avoid labour intensive work and uncertainty for success of establishing anopheles colonies from malagasy species, field collections of blood-fed females and in-tube forced oviposition were combined to reliably produce large numbers of ...	2017	28069024
vector competence of culex antennatus and anopheles coustani mosquitoes for rift valley fever virus in madagascar.	culex antennatus (diptera: culicidae), anopheles coustani (diptera: culicidae) and anopheles squamosus/cydippis were found to be infected with rift valley fever virus (rvfv) during an epidemic that occurred in 2008 and 2009 in madagascar. to understand the roles played by cx. antennatus and an. coustani in virus maintenance and transmission, rvfv vector competence was assessed in each species. mosquito body parts and saliva of mosquitoes that fed on rvfv-infected blood were tested for rvfv using ...	2018	29383746
dry season occurrence of anopheles mosquitoes and implications in jabi tehnan district, west gojjam zone, ethiopia.	generating evidence on the dry season occurrence of the larval and adult stages of anopheles mosquitoes helps to design effective malaria vector control strategy as the populations of the vectors is expected to be low.	2018	30497495
microdam impoundments provide suitable habitat for larvae of malaria vectors: an observational study in western kenya.	impoundments formed by microdams in rural areas of africa are important sources of water for people, but they provide potential larval habitats for anopheles (diptera: culicidae) mosquitoes that are vectors of malaria. to study this association, the perimeters of 31 microdam impoundments in western kenya were sampled for anopheles larvae in three zones (patches of floating and emergent vegetation, shorelines of open water, and aggregations of cattle hoofprints) across dry and rainy seasons. of 3 ...	2018	29462354
assessing the presence of wuchereria bancrofti infections in vectors using xenomonitoring in lymphatic filariasis endemic districts in ghana.	mass drug administration (mda) is the current mainstay to interrupt the transmission of lymphatic filariasis. to monitor whether mda is effective and transmission of lymphatic filariasis indeed has been interrupted, rigorous surveillance is required. assessment of transmission by programme managers is usually done via serology. new research suggests that xenomonitoring holds promise for determining the success of lymphatic filariasis interventions. the objective of this study was to assess wuche ...	2019	30884886
biodiversity pattern of mosquitoes in southeastern senegal, epidemiological implication in arbovirus and malaria transmission.	the composition, density, diversity, and temporal distribution of mosquito species and the influence of temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall on these data were investigated in 50 sites across five land cover classes (forest, savannah, barren, village, and agriculture) in southeastern senegal. mosquitoes were collected monthly in each site between june 2009 and march 2011, with three people collecting mosquitoes landing on their legs for one to four consecutive days. in total, 81,219 spec ...	2019	30428055
de novo profiling of rna viruses in anopheles malaria vector mosquitoes from forest ecological zones in senegal and cambodia.	mosquitoes are colonized by a large but mostly uncharacterized natural virome of rna viruses, and the composition and distribution of the natural rna virome may influence the biology and immunity of anopheles malaria vector populations.	2019	31429704