Abstract
Within mosquito vector populations, infectious mosquitoes are the ones completing the transmission of pathogens to susceptible hosts and they are, consequently, of great epidemiological interest. Mosquito infection by malaria parasites has been shown to affect several traits of mosquito physiology and behavior, and could interplay with the efficacy of control tools. In this study, we evaluated, in pyrethroid resistant Anopheles gambiae, the effect of mosquito infection with the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum on the efficacy of nets treated with either the insecticide deltamethrin or the repellent DEET, measuring (i) mosquito success to pass through the net, (ii) blood-feeding on a host and (iii) chemicals-induced mortality. Infection of mosquitoes at non-infectious stage did not affect their success to pass through the net, to blood-feed, nor chemicals-induced mortality. At infectious stage, depending on replicates, infected mosquitoes had higher mortality rates than uninfected mosquitoes, with stronger effect in presence of DEET. This data evidenced a cost of infection on mosquito survival at transmissible stages of infection, which could have significant consequences for both malaria epidemiology and vector control. This stresses the need for understanding the combined effects of insecticide resistance and infection on the efficacy on control tools.
Highlights
Within mosquito vector populations, infectious mosquitoes are the ones completing the transmission of pathogens to susceptible hosts and they are, of great epidemiological interest
Conventional control tools mostly rely on the use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), their efficacy could be threatened by the increase of insecticide resistance mechanisms in mosquito populations[16]
The pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin and the synthetic repellent DEET were tested for their efficacy to reduce mosquito success to find a hole and to pass through a treated net, blood-feeding on a host after passing through the net, as well as chemical-induced mortality
Summary
Infectious mosquitoes are the ones completing the transmission of pathogens to susceptible hosts and they are, of great epidemiological interest. We evaluated, in pyrethroid resistant Anopheles gambiae, the effect of mosquito infection with the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum on the efficacy of nets treated with either the insecticide deltamethrin or the repellent DEET, measuring (i) mosquito success to pass through the net, (ii) blood-feeding on a host and (iii) chemicals-induced mortality. Malaria-infected Anopheles mosquitoes generally display increase attraction, biting and feeding rate[6,7,8,9,10] These changes are often concomitant with the presence of transmissible stages of the pathogen and may contribute to increase the number of contacts between human hosts and infectious vectors[11]. In laboratory-controlled experiments, we measured Anopheles gambiae success to find a hole and to pass through a net treated with either deltamethrin or DEET, subsequent blood-feeding on a host, and chemicals-induced mortality
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
