Abstract
BackgroundVector-borne infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms transmitted mainly by blood-sucking arthropod vectors. In laboratories, the handling of insects carrying human pathogens requires extra caution because of safety concerns over their escape risk. Based on standard insect containment practices, there have been cases where costly enhancements were required to definitely protect laboratory workers and neighbors from potential infection through mosquito bites. Here, we developed a mosquito rearing method that provides a reliable and cost-effective means to securely contain pathogen-infected females of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti.ResultsTo debilitate the motility of A. aegypti females, mosquitoes were rendered completely flightless by ablation of either wing. The “single-winged” mosquitoes exhibited a severe defect in flying ability and were incubated in a container with inside surfaces covered with a net stretched to approximately 1-mm mesh, which helped the mosquitoes hold on and climb up the wall. In this container, flightless females consistently showed similar blood feeding and egg laying activities to intact females. Eighty-five percent of the flightless mosquitoes survived at 1 week after wing ablation, ensuring feasibility of the use of these mosquitoes for studying pathogen dynamics.ConclusionsThis mosquito rearing method, with a detailed protocol, is presented here and can be readily implemented as a highly secure insectary for vectors carrying human pathogens. For researchers in an environment where highly strict containment practices are mandatory, this method could offer appropriate opportunities to perform research on pathogen–mosquito interactions in vivo.
Highlights
Vector-borne infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms transmitted mainly by blood-sucking arthropod vectors
One of the major impediments for research on pathogen–vector interaction is derived from safety concerns regarding the risk of the inadvertent escape of vectors carrying human pathogens when infectious agents are introduced into vectors
The flight ability of A. aegypti mosquitoes after wing removal was estimated by releasing mosquitoes from the top of a cage and observing their landing sites (Fig. 2a and Table 1)
Summary
Vector-borne infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms transmitted mainly by blood-sucking arthropod vectors. The handling of insects carrying human pathogens requires extra caution because of safety concerns over their escape risk. Based on standard insect containment practices, there have been cases where costly enhancements were required to definitely protect laboratory workers and neighbors from potential infection through mosquito bites. Disease-causing microorganisms, virus, bacteria, protozoan parasites, and worms are transmitted from host animals to humans mainly through blood-sucking arthropod vectors. One of the major impediments for research on pathogen–vector interaction is derived from safety concerns regarding the risk of the inadvertent escape of vectors carrying human pathogens when infectious agents are introduced into vectors. In the case of being on the loose, the vectorial capacity of flying insects associated with high motility and excellent host perception could be a serious threat for laboratory workers. Infected workers could unintentionally become a potential source of pathogens in areas where adequate
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