Abstract: Novel insect-specific viruses (ISVs) are being discovered in many important vectors due to advances in sequencing technology and a growing awareness of the virome. Several in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that ISVs are capable of modulating pathogenic arboviruses. In addition, there is growing evidence that both vertical and horizonal transmission strategies maintain ISVs in vector populations. As such there is potential to exploit ISVs for stand-alone vector control strategie...
Abstract: Jumping spiders (Salticidae) typically prey on a variety of arthropods of similar size to themselves, but rarely on ants. Using 28 salticid species from East Africa, we frst investigated vision-based aversion to ants by recording latency to enter a transparent sealed chamber fanked by chambers containing living army ants (Dorylus sp.) or tsetse fies (Glossina pallidipes) of comparable size. For all species, entry latency was signifcantly longer when the stimuli were ants. In anothe...
Abstract: Field observations have demonstrated that gravid Anopheles gambiae Giles s.s. (Diptera: Culicidae) are selective in their choice of oviposition sites. For example, immature stages of An. gambiae s.s. are rarely found in water that contains Culex quinquefasciatus Say immatures. The possibility that this may, in part at least,reflect a response by ovipositing An. gambiae s.s. females to volatile signals associated with Culex juveniles was evaluated by testing the response of An. gamb...
Abstract: Background: The origin of highly competent malaria vectors has been linked to productive larval habitats in the field, but there isn't solid quantitative or qualitative data to support it. To test this, the effect of larval habitat soil substrates on larval development time, pupation rates and vector competence of Anopheles gambiae to Plasmodium falciparum were examined. Methods: Soils were collected from active larval habitats with sandy and clay substrates from field sites and t...
Abstract: Background: Tsetse fly-borne trypanosomiasis remains a significant problem in Africa despite years of interventions and research. The need for new strategies to control and possibly eliminate trypanosomiasis cannot be over-emphasized. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) infect their hosts through the cuticle and proliferate within the body of the host causing death in about 3–14 days depending on the concentration. During the infection process, EPF can reduce blood feeding abilities in ...
Abstract: Background:Carbon dioxide (CO2) plays an important role in the host-seeking process of opportunistic, zoophilic and anthropophilic mosquito species and is, therefore, commonly added to mosquito sampling tools. The African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae sensu strictois attracted to human volatiles augmented by CO2. This study investigated whether CO2, usually supplied from gas cylinders acquired from commercial industry, could be replaced by CO 2 derived from fermenting yeast (yea...
Abstract: The succession of mosquito species and abiotic factors affecting their distribution and abundance in rice (Oryza spp.) Þelds was investigated over a 16-wk rice growing cycle covering the period between January and May 2006. Fifteen experimental rice plots were sampled for mosquito larvae and characterized based on rice height, number of tillers, ßoating vegetation cover, water depth, water temperature, turbidity, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, and conduct...
Abstract: ABSTRACT Pyrethroid-treated bed-nets and indoor spray are important components of malaria control strategies in Kenya. Information on resistance to pyrethroid insecticides in Anopheles gambiae and An. arabiensis populations is essential to the selection of appropriate insecticides and the management of insecticide resistance. Monooxygenase activity and knockdown resistance (kdr) allele frequency are biochemical and molecular indicators of mosquito resistance to pyrethroids. This st...
Abstract: Background & objectives: Lantana viburnoides sp viburnoides var kisi is used in Tanzania ethnobotanically to repel mosquitoes as well as in traditional medicine for stomach ache relief. Bioassay-guided fractionation and subtraction bioassays of the dichloromethane extract of the root barks were carried out in order to identify the bioactive components for controlling Anopheles gambiae s.s. mosquito larvae. Methods: Twenty late III or early IV instar larvae of An. gambiae s.s. were ...
Abstract: Anopheles gambiae Giles sensu stricto (Diptera: Culicidae) egg development and its relation to environmental parameters is an understudied aspect of vector biology. Although several studies have illustrated the dramatic effects of temperature on egg development, egg hatching dynamics remain unclear. The objective of this study was to expose An. gambiae eggs to various temperatures for different lengths of time and determine the impact on egg development and hatching count. Batches ...
Abstract: The global spread of vector-borne diseases remains a worrying public health threat, raising the need for development of new combat strategies for vector control. Knowledge of vector ecology can be exploited in this regard, including plant feeding; a critical resource that mosquitoes of both sexes rely on for survival and other metabolic processes. However, the identity of plant species mosquitoes feed on in nature remains largely unknown. By testing the hypothesis about selectivity...
Abstract: Novel approaches to area-wide control of vector species offer promise as additional tools in the fight against vectored diseases. Evaluation of transgenic insect strains aimed at field population control in disease-endemic countries may involve international partnerships and should be done in a stepwise approach, starting with studies in containment facilities. The preparations of both new-build and renovated facilities are described, includingworking with local and national regula...
Abstract: Background: Malaria is highly sensitive to climatic variables and is strongly infuenced by the presence of vectors in a region that further contribute to parasite development and sustained disease transmission. Mathematical analysis of malaria transmission through the use and application of the value of the basic reproduction number (R0) threshold is an important and useful tool for the understanding of disease patterns. Methods: Temperature dependence aspect of R0 obtained from dy...
Abstract: This Special Issue presents the outcomes from the 23rd African Association of Insect Scientists' Conference held in Cote D’Ivoire, in connection with similar initiatives within and outside Africa. Over 65 scientific papers from several countries, worldwide, were submitted, of which about 40 were accepted and published. The issue focused on new advances in the value chain of edible insects in Africa and beyond. An innovative light-emitting diode technology for mass harvesting of e...
Abstract: Background: In a recent study using DNA barcoding, we identifed the plants fed upon by four Afro-tropical mos quito species that vector dengue, malaria, and Rift Valley fever. Herein, we have expanded on this study by investi gating the role of three of the plants, Pithecellobium dulce (Fabaceae), Leonotis nepetifolia (Lamiaceae), and Opuntia fcus-indica (Cactaceae), on the survival, fecundity, and egg viability of the dengue vector Aedes aegypti. Methods: We tested these efects us...