Abstract: Background: PermaNet® 3.0 is a deltamethrin-treated combination long-lasting insecticidal net with the addition of synergist piperonylbutoxide (PBO) on its roof section. It is designed to overcome the challenge posed by pyrethroid resistant vector populations against mainstream long-lasting insecticidal nets impregnated with pyrethroids only. The objective of this study was to determine insecticide resistance status of Anopheline and Culicine mosquitoes, to evaluate the bio-efcacy...
Abstract: : This study was carried out to assess individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for UZIMAX,a novel plant-based biopesticide developed for malaria vector control. The biopesticide is estimated to kill up to 100% of Anopheles larvae within 48 h of application and poses no risks to human health and the environment. However, scaling-up of its adoption requires clear evidence of its acceptance by individuals in malaria-prone areas. We conducted Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) revealed pref...
Abstract: Background: In Kenya, malaria remains a major public health menace equally affecting the semi-arid to arid ecologies. However, entomologic knowledge of malaria vectors in such areas remains poor.Methods: Morphologically-identified wild-caught Anopheles funestus (s.l.) specimens trapped outdoors from the semi-arid to arid area of Kacheliba, West Pokot County, Kenya, were analysed by PCR and sequencing for species identification, malaria parasite infection and host blood-meal sources...
Abstract: Background: The search for a standard human surrogate in the form of a synthetic mosquito attractant has been the goal of many laboratories around the world. Besides alleviating the occupational risk subjected to volunteers participating in vector surveillance and control, discovery of potent attractants underpins the development and deployment of mass trapping devices for controlling mosquito-borne diseases. Methods: A dual-port olfactometer was used to assess behavioural response...
Abstract: Background & objectives: A study was conducted to characterise larval habitats and to determine spatial heterogeneity of the Anopheles mosquito larvae. The study was conducted from May to June 1999 in nine villages along the Kenyan coast. Methods: Aquatic habitats were sampled by use of standard dipping technique. The habitats were characterised based on size, pH, distance to the nearest house, coverage of canopy, surface debris, algae and emergent plants, turbidity, substrate, and...
Abstract: What does ‘mosquito specialist’mean? A mosquito specialist is a predator that actively prefers mosquitoes, by which we mean that it is differentially motivated to capture mosquitoes among possible prey. This would make it extraordinarily useful, as it would be targeting an insect that matters to people. At best, the mosquito is a nuisance and, at worst,it is a notorious disease vector. There may be many predators that eat alot of mosquitoes, but experimental evidence is needed ...
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: At six sites in western Kenya, we explored the presence of Anopheles immature stages in treeholes. An. gambiae larvae were found in 19 species, 13 of which are exotic. The most common exotic species were Delonix regia, Jacaranda mimosipholia, and Eucalyptus citrodora. In Kisumu city, longitudinal assessments of 10 flamboyant trees showed repeated presence of An. gambiae s.s. in treeholes with water. Production of Anopheles larvae did not correlate with habitat volume but with habit...
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: Many arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes have been implicated as causative agents of both human and animal illnesses in East Africa. Although epidemics of arboviral emerging infectious diseases have risen in frequency in recent years, the extent to which mosquitoes maintain pathogens in circulation during inter-epidemic periods is still poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate whether arboviruses may be maintained by vertical transmission via immature life stages of dif...
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...