Public Health Entomology Research Articles

A regional One Health approach to the risk of invasion by Anopheles stephensi in Mauritius.

Anopheles stephensi is an invasive malaria vector in Africa that threatens to put an additional 126 million people at risk of malaria if it continues to spread. The island nation of Mauritius is highly connected to Asia and Africa and is at risk of introduction due to this connectivity. For early detection of An. stephensi, the Vector Biology and Control Division under the Ministry of Health in Mauritius, leveraged a well-established Aedes program, as An. stephensi is known to share Aedes habitats. These efforts triggered multisectoral coordination and cascading benefits of integrated vector and One Health approaches. Beginning June 2021, entomological surveys were conducted at points of entry (seaport, airport) and on ships transporting livestock in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Department, the Mauritian Port Authority and National Veterinary Services. A total of 18, 39, 723 mosquito larval surveys were respectively conducted in the airport, seaport, and other localities in Mauritius while two, 20, and 26 adult mosquito surveys were respectively conducted in the airport, seaport, and twenty-six animal assembly points. Alongside adult mosquito surveys, surveillance of vectors of veterinary importance (e.g.- Culicoides spp.) was also carried out in collaboration with National Parks and Conservation Service and land owners. A total of 8,428 adult mosquitoes were collected and 1,844 larval habitats were positive for mosquitoes. All collected mosquitoes were morphologically identified and 151 Anopheles and 339 Aedes mosquitoes were also molecularly characterized. Mosquito species detected were Aedes albopictus, Anopheles arabiensis, An. coustani, An. merus, Culex quinquefasciatus, Cx. thalassius and Lutzia tigripes. Anopheles stephensi was not detected. The One Health approach was shared with the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), strengthening collaboration between Mauritius and Réunion Island on vector surveillance at entry points and insecticide resistance monitoring. The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) was also alerted to the risk of An. stephensi, leading to regional efforts supporting trainings and development of a response strategy to An. stephensi bringing together stakeholders from Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion Island and Seychelles. Mauritius is a model system showing how existing public health entomology capabilities can be used to enhance vector surveillance and control and create multisectoral networks to respond to any emerging public and veterinary health vector-borne disease threat.

Post graduate program in public health entomology: A new horizon of capacity building for fighting against vector borne disease in India

Post graduate program in public health entomology: A new horizon of capacity building for fighting against vector borne disease in India

Regaining the path to malaria elimination: Lessons from the pandemic.

The stagnation in malaria elimination efforts can be attributed to several contributing reasons: large populations displaced by conflict and severe weather, insecticide and drug resistance, competing priorities with COVID-19 and Ebola. Part of the problem may also be us and our pre-pandemic systems. The accelerated response to the COVID-19 emergency carries lessons for global efforts against the 'other emergency', malaria. Michael has worked in vector control since 1977, beginning with Peace Corps in the Sabah (E. Malaysia) MCP. He earned an Sc.D. from Johns Hopkins researching malaria transmission in Pakistan; lived in Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Zambia with stints in the US and Geneva supporting programmes throughout Africa and Asia, working for Johns Hopkins and Boston Universities, USAID, WFP, UNHCR, WHO, IVCC and NGOs involved in public health entomology and vector control in Africa and Asia.

Lessons on malaria vector control from Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sneezy, and Sleepy.

Despite significant advancements in vector control, malaria continues to expand and claim hundreds of thousands of lives annually. A 1943 animated film by Walt Disney remains a poignant reminder of the ongoing challenge and a good example of interventions that have fallen off the pages of history. It underscores two key points. First, the importance of proactive mosquito control measures and the need for comprehensive strategies targeting mosquitoes at every stage of their life cycle. Second, collaboration between all stakeholders and sustained investment are vital for success in malaria control. Manuel Llu-beras is a public health entomologist renowned globally for assembling the business architecture of mosquito population management initiatives in four continents. He crafted the first WHO Operational Manual for Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and played a pivotal role in designing the structure of the IRS campaign of the US President's Malaria Initiative and several mineral extraction companies. He served in several post-event emergency mosquito control operations. Prior to establishing Mosquito Den LLC in 2021, he was Executive Director for Public Health for H.D. Hudson Manufacturing from 1996 through 2022. He served as medical entomologist for the US Navy a dozen years. His contributions to public health entomology were recognised with the Global Trade Award from the Global Trade Chamber, the Meritorious Service Award of the American Mosquito Control Association, and two nominations for the Rear Admiral Charles S. Stevenson Award for excellence in US Navy Preventive Medicine.

Entomological Reference Collection: 85 years of contributions to public health.

The Department of Hygiene of the Faculty of Medicine of São Paulo (FMUSP), organized with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, became the Institute of Hygiene, with the inaugural class taught by Samuel Darling in 1918. The history of Public Health Entomology is mixed with that of the Institute itself, which became the Faculty of Hygiene and Public Health in 1945. Still in the 1930s, Paulo César de Azevedo Antunes and John Lane organized Public Health Entomology within the Medical Parasitology area of the then Institute of Hygiene. During this period, the entomology laboratory came to be recognized for its research in the systematics of hematophagous insects, as well as in the ecology, biology and behavior of vectors. The Entomological Reference Collection (CER) originated naturally from the research of Paulo César Antunes and John Lane and is a national and international heritage covering primary and secondary types of insect species that are of interest to public health. Over the years, it has been consolidated with the efforts of Augusto Ayroza Galvão, Renato Corrêa, José Coutinho, Nelson Cerqueira, Ernesto Rabello, Oswaldo Forattini and others. In its over eighty years of activities, CER has enabled the training of several scientists able to act in programs of surveillance and control of endemic diseases associated with insect vectors throughout Latin America, in addition to training taxonomists focused on insects of interest in Public Health. Researchers from other Brazilian institutes and abroad joined the entomology laboratory because of its importance and the research developed in it. The growing scientific production made it possible for entomological studies developed at the Faculty of Public Health (FSP) to gain international visibility, contributing to the development of disease prevention and epidemic control actions in the country.

Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases' Master of Science training program: a curriculum to support future capacity in public health entomology.

A major lack of expertise in vector biology, surveillance, and control for public health professionals has been acknowledged over the past several decades, especially in light of the introduction of West Nile and Zika viruses to the United States. To address this growing need, the Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (NEVBD) designed a unique educational program to cross-train students in the fundamentals of vector biology and public health. Here, we summarize the formation, evaluation, and outcomes of NEVBD's Master of Science in Entomology: Vector-Borne Disease Biology program and provide details on core competencies to enable adoption and adaptation of the program to other institutions and contexts. A discussion of major barriers to filling the nation's need for public health personnel with medical entomology training, such as financial barriers and recruitment of underrepresented students, is presented. We conclude with considerations for administering these training programs.

2021 AMCA Presidential Address.

2021 AMCA Presidential Address.

A Novel Bacterial-Mediated Method for the Differentiation of Aedes spp. Larvae in Mixed-Nursery Assays and Its Application in the Determination of Vegetative Lysinibacillus sphaericus Biocontrol Efficiency in Invasive Vector Eradication

The establishment of Aedes aegypti and the recent invasion of Aedes albopictus has put Colombia at risk, as it now harbours two arboviral vector species. Studies have shown the susceptibility of Aedes aegypti to the vegetative toxins produced by Lysinibacillus sphaericus. This study aims to determine the potential of two L. sphaericus strains in the control of both Aedes species present in Colombia, in both single and mixed species nurseries. Given the similarities between both species, there exists a need to differentiate them for the development of precise control strategies. Accordingly, mixed nurseries employed a red fluorescent protein (mRFP)-expressing Escherichia coli strain as a differentiator. Coloration-aided differentiation facilitated the analysis of mixed nursery treatments and provided deeper scrutiny into the variables at play. This showed an increase in the biocontrol efficiency, pointing to probable ecological variables. Bioassays involving Ae. albopictus showed a lower resistance to the one reported for Ae. aegypti in single-species nurseries. The study concludes that the use of E. coli strains expressing fluorescent proteins are useful tools to be employed in areas like public health entomology. Moreover, it was found that the use of L. sphaericus strains for biocontrol of vector mosquitoes is a viable alternative to chemical insecticides.

Diversity of Public Health and Forensic Important Flies Using Three Measures of Hill Numbers in Iran

Introduction: Dipteran species (flies) are one of the most important insects within the public health and forensic fields. Previous studies have shown that flies play an important role in transmitting the diseases and also estimating the time of death, but their diversity by new methods has been less studied. Methods: Dipteran specimens were collected from rabbit carcasses during spring and summer 2019 and then identified. We used the three measures of Hill numbers (q=0,1,2) to compare the species diversity between the seasons. The analysis was performed with an R package (iNEXT) that provided in 2014. Results: During the present study, 12 dipteran species were collected on rabbit carcasses. L. cuprina and M. stabulans were recorded only from the remains of rabbits in summer. The analysis with iNEXT software showed that species richness (q = 0) in spring is lower than summer and this difference was significant. While, the value of Shannon and Simpson diversity index (q = 1, 2) in summer was lower than in spring. Shannon index value was not significantly different between the seasons, as its confidence intervals almost completely overlapped, but a significant difference in Simpson index was detected between the seasons. Conclusion: We conclude that Ch. albiceps, L. sericata and C.vicina are more frequent flies in the study area and dipteran species are more diverse in spring. The current study provided a database in the field of public health and forensic entomology that could be useful for estimating minimum postmortem intervals and also in vector control programs.

The Need for a National Strategy to Address Vector-Borne Disease Threats in the United States.

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) cause significant morbidity and mortality each year in the United States. Over the last 14 yr, over 700,000 cases of diseases carried by ticks, mosquitoes, and fleas have been reported from U.S. states and territories to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of reported cases has been increasing annually with two major trends: a steady increase in tick-borne diseases and increasing intermittent outbreaks of mosquito-borne arboviruses. The factors that are driving VBD introduction and emergence vary among diseases but are not likely to disappear, indicating that current trends will continue and probably worsen in the absence of effective prevention and control tools and implementation capacity. There are a number of challenges to preventing VBDs, including the lack of vaccines and effective vector control tools, insecticide resistance, and eroding technical capacities in public health entomology at federal, state, and local levels. For these reasons, a national strategy is needed to address VBD threats and to reverse the alarming trend in morbidity and mortality associated with these diseases.

A Multi-Gene Analysis and Potential Spatial Distribution of Species of the Strodei Subgroup of the Genus Nyssorhynchus (Diptera: Culicidae).

Nyssorhynchus strodei (Root) is an understudied species of potential epidemiological importance, having been found naturally infected in Brazil with Plasmodium falciparum Welch, Plasmodium vivax Grassi & Feletti, and Plasmodium malariae Feletti & Grassi. It belongs to the strodei subgroup that includes Nyssorhynchus albertoi (Unti), Nyssorhynchus arthuri (Unti), Nyssorhynchus rondoni (Neiva & Pinto), Nyssorhynchus striatus (Sant'Ana & Sallum), and three unnamed species, Nyssorhynchus arthuri B, Nyssorhynchus arthuri C, and Nyssorhynchus arthuri D. As the accurate identification of vector species is of fundamental importance for public health entomology, the aim of the study was to provide additional information for the presence of seven species that had been previously misidentified as Ny. strodei. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses using DNA sequences of the genes COI mtDNA, white, CAD and CAT nuclear genes confirmed Ny. albertoi, Ny. arthuri, Ny. strodei, and Ny. striatus as distinct groups within the strodei subgroup and corroborated the presence of three undescribed species under the name Ny. arthuri. Results of the GMYC model analysis corroborated Ny. arthuri B, Ny. arthuri C, and Ny. arthuri D; however, they did not distinguish between Ny. strodei and Ny. albertoi. Predicted distribution of seven species based on maximum entropy in MaxEnt showed that each species has its specific ecological niche suitability.

Occurrences of triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) and first reports of Panstrongylus geniculatus in urban environments in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

ABSTRACTThis note reports on occurrences of triatomine species in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, registered between 1988 and 2017. Records of triatomines captured in Sao Paulo are based on specimens received spontaneously from Health Surveillance Centers, Health Centers and Zoonosis Control Centers in the city as well as from citizens. Species were identified morphologically at the Public Health Entomology Laboratory, Faculty of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, where the triatomines, which are vectors of Chagas disease, were tested for Trypanosoma cruzi infection. The first reported occurrence of triatomine bugs in urban Sao Paulo was in 1988. The specimen, which was captured in Jardim Sao Luiz district, was from the genus Panstrongylus and was registered as Panstrongylus sp. but was not sexed. Since this first recorded occurrence, the following species have been found in the city: Panstrongylus geniculatus (2 occurrences), P. megistus (15 occurrences), Triatoma infestans (1 occurrence) and T. sordida (3 occurrences). In this paper, the importance of reporting occurrences of triatomine bugs in the city of Sao Paulo, one of the largest metropolis in the world, is discussed with an emphasis on P. megistus. The occurrences discussed here indicate the importance of entomological surveillance for these vectors even in urban centers although the possibility of vector transmission of Chagas disease in these centers is very low.

Public Health Entomology Goddard, J. 2013. Public Health Entomology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. XIX + 210 pp. ISBN 978-1-4398-4881-4, US$89.00 (hardback), US$80.00 (eBook). Amazon

Goddard, J. 2013. Public Health Entomology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. XIX + 210 pp. ISBN 978-1-4398-4881-4, US$89.00 (hardback), US$80.00 (eBook). Amazon Few textbooks exist detailing the aspects of public health entomology, especially ones addressing the recent public health threats in the United States. Surveys in the U.S. assessing the public’s response to vector-borne diseases clearly demonstrate a growing concern for their control and knowledge, especially those transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes (Hill et al. 2009). Dr. Jerome Goddard, the author of Public Health Entomology , provides readers with a comprehensive 210-page textbook detailing aspects of modern-day public health entomology. An associate extension professor of medical and veterinary entomology at Mississippi State University, Dr. Goddard is an accomplished author who has written over 175 scientific papers, 8 book chapters, 4 college-level reference or textbooks and 6 fiction novels. View this article in BioOne

Malaria vector control at a crossroads: public health entomology and the drive to elimination.

Vector control has been at the core of successful malaria control. However, a dearth of field-oriented vector biologists threatens to undermine global reductions in malaria burden. Skilled cadres are needed to manage insecticide resistance, to maintain coverage with current interventions, to develop new paradigms for tackling 'residual' transmission and to target interventions as transmission becomes increasingly heterogeneous. Recognising this human resource crisis, in September 2013, WHO Global Malaria Programme issued guidance for capacity building in entomology and vector control, including recommendations for countries and implementing partners. Ministries were urged to develop long-range strategic plans for building human resources for public health entomology and vector control (including skills in epidemiology, geographic information systems, operational research and programme management) and to set in place the requisite professional posts and career opportunities. Capacity building and national ownership in all partner projects and a clear exit strategy to sustain human and technical resources after project completion were emphasised. Implementing partners were urged to support global and regional efforts to enhance public health entomology capacity. While the challenges inherent in such capacity building are great, so too are the opportunities to establish the next generation of public health entomologists that will enable programmes to continue on the path to malaria elimination.

An Interview with Graham White, Ph.D.

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic DiseasesVol. 9, No. 6 ProfileAn Interview with Graham White, Ph.D.Published Online:9 Dec 2009https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2009.9612.intAboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View articleAbstractGraham White, Ph.D., is a research scientist in the Department of Entomology & Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, based in the Mosquito & Fly Research Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service Center for Medical, Veterinary & Agricultural Entomology. He graduated with a degree in entomology from Imperial College of London University and chose a career in public health entomology, specializing in mosquito biology and control. Dr. White received his doctoral degree from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) for research to develop chemosterilant procedures (sterile insect technique) that were applied by USDA to eliminate Culex quinquefasciatus from a Florida island. During 1967–1972, he served as medical entomologist for the East African Institute for Malaria & Vector-Borne Diseases, based at Amani in Tanzania, investigating vector species complexes in relation to epidemiology and control of malaria, filariasis, and onchocerciasis. During the 1970s, he was Assistant Professor at the Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, with a Wellcome Fellowship to study the Anopheles gambiae complex in relation to malaria control operations. He then became head of Medical Entomology at the British Museum of Natural History, from 1974 to 1979, where he specialized in biosystematics and served 20 years as a Director of the International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. He returned to LSHTM as Senior Lecturer in Medical Entomology from 1979 to 1985, and served as a World Health Organization (WHO) consultant with national vector control programs in Cuba, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, and the United Arab Emirates. During 1985–1997, Dr. White was vector control product development manager for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI, Britain's biggest chemical company) and then Zeneca Public Health. He contributed to the development of pyrethroid formulations for antimalaria house-spraying and for insecticide-treated bednets, including the first wash-resistant treatment. In 1987, he founded the quarterly research journal Medical & Veterinary Entomology for the U.K. Royal Entomological Society. He served as entomologist and Rapporteur of the Technical Advisory Group of the Global Programme for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis and has advised on malaria vector control in more than 30 countries. Dr. White was Rapporteur for a series of intercountry meetings that launched the WHO Integrated Vector Management Strategy 2003. Since 2004, he serves as full-time consultant for the U.S. Armed Forces Pest Management Board, to facilitate the development of new vector control materials and application methods.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 9Issue 6Dec 2009 InformationCopyright 2009, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.To cite this article:An Interview with Graham White, Ph.D..Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases.Dec 2009.755-758.http://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2009.9612.intPublished in Volume: 9 Issue 6: December 9, 2009PDF download

Assessing and Responding to Public Health Entomology Needs in Indiana

The establishment of West Nile virus (WNv) in the continental United States has had a profound effect on the public health profession and refocused attention on how public health professionals respond to an emerging or reemerging disease outbreak. Here we report the findings of an extensive, 43-question survey of 136 public health entomology (PHE) professionals in Indiana conducted between October and November 2004. The survey was designed to define PHE clientele and their needs, and to establish a baseline of PHE activities within the state. We learned that Indiana PHE professionals are a diverse group in terms of job responsibilities, type and number of clients served, and the amount of time spent on the job. The survey identified the most common questions received by public health specialists as well as the most significant problems, challenges, and limitations they face in their jobs. The results of the survey were used to analyze the effect of WNv on the Indiana PHE profession. Here we describe how survey findings were used to guide development of a new PHE Program at Purdue University that is aimed at reducing vector-borne diseases by using public outreach and education.

Issues in public health entomology.

Public health entomology focuses on the population biology of vector-borne infections, seeking to understand how such pathogens perpetuate over time and attempting to devise methods for reducing the burden that they impose on human health. As public health entomology passes its centennial, a series of pervasive research themes and spirited debates characterize the discipline, many reflecting a tension between field and laboratory research. In particular, institutional support for population-based research and training programs has fallen behind that for those using modern lab-based approaches. Discussion of modes of intervention against vector-borne infections (such as deployment of genetically modified vectors, the role of DDT in malaria control, host-targeted acaricides for Lyme disease risk reduction, and truck-mounted aerosol spraying against West Nile virus transmission) illustrates the discipline's need for strengthening population-based research programs. Even with the advent of molecular methods for describing population structure, the basis for anophelism without malaria (or its eastern North American counterpart, ixodism without borreliosis) remains elusive. Such methods have not yet been extensively used to examine the phylogeography and geographical origins of zoonoses such as Lyme disease. Basic ecological questions remain poorly explored: What regulates vector populations? How may mixtures of pathogens be maintained by a single vector? What factors might limit the invasion of Asian mosquitoes into North American sites? Putative effects of "global warming" remain speculative given our relative inability to answer such questions. Finally, policy and administrative issues such as the "no-nits" dictum in American schools, the Roll Back Malaria program, and legal liability for risk due to vector-borne infections serve to demonstrate further the nature of the crossroads that the discipline of public health entomology faces at the start of the 21st Century.

Public Health Entomology--The Entomological Stepchild of Progress

The title of this paper is not intended to be facetious or enigmatic, capricious or obscure. It is a sincere attempt to establish the place in science toward which Public Health Entomology is drifting. The author is thoroughly aware that there is no entity per se in our biological discipline with this title. It is simply an amorphous offshoot of Medical-Veterinary Entomology and Economic Entomology. Whatever form exists for this unit of study has been created by the advancing pressures of progress.

Recent Developments in Public Health Entomology and Their Possible Application to Agriculture

Recent developments by the Communicable Disease Center in the use of insecticides of possible interest and usefulness to Agricultural entomologists include a simple rubber disc that Serves effectively as a sprayer pressure and flow regulator, a mechanical system for dispersing dichlorvos vapors for aircraft disinsection that could be adapted for use in any permanently enclosed space requiring frequent or continuous disinsection, and solid formulations of diehlorvos that provide a sustained release of diehlorvos vapors at a relatively uniform rate over a period of several months, which may prove useful for treating enclosed spaces where the use of mechanical dispersing systems would not be feasible.

Integration of Biological and Chemical Control: Opportunities Against Medically Important Arthropods

In the field of public health entomology, the concept of integrated arthropod control has not emerged as a working principle to the extent that it has in agriculture. Part of this lag is due to economic considerations as well as to a marked preference for (a) rote operations and for (b) curative means as opposed to preventive measures. Except in states where the tourist trade is a major economic factor, vector control programs in the United States rarely provide benefits that are clearly measurable in terms of dollars.