Project Title: Using crowdsourcing to identify, charcterize and target swarms of Anopheles funestus mosquitoes in rural Tanzania
Project Description: Malaria is transmitted by many Anopheles mosquito species but their contributions to transmission vary depending on the environment. In rural south eastern Tanzania, one vector species (Anopheles funestus) now carries nine in every ten new malaria cases. Unfortunately this particular species very minimally understood, partly because it is very difficult to rare inside laboratories, and because its natural populations and behaviors can be cryptic. For example, no one had previously observed these mosquitoes mating in... Malaria is transmitted by many Anopheles mosquito species but their contributions to transmission vary depending on the environment. In rural south eastern Tanzania, one vector species (Anopheles funestus) now carries nine in every ten new malaria cases. Unfortunately this particular species very minimally understood, partly because it is very difficult to rare inside laboratories, and because its natural populations and behaviors can be cryptic. For example, no one had previously observed these mosquitoes mating in the wild in Tanzania until 2018 when, with the help of local community volunteers, our team discovered An funestus mating swarms. Since these swarms occur in very specific sites repeatedly, understanding and targeting them with effective insecticides could potentially suppress vector populations and possibly malaria transmission. My proposed research aims to use community-based approaches identify, characterize, and effectively target swarms of An. funestus mosquitoes in rural south-eastern Tanzania, so as to complement existing efforts.
Principal Investigator : Emanuel Kaindoa
Department Name :
Time frame: (2019-09-01) - (2023-03-01)
Wellcome Trust (Normal)
External Collaborating Partners
None added yet.