Welcome to Malaria.com, and another issue of our newly-launched “e-zine” format. We hope you enjoyed the diagnostics articles that kicked us off in September – we are now back with another selection of articles, this time devoted to a critical issue related to malaria: vectors. Given my academic background in schistosomiasis, which is transmitted by fresh-water snails, I suppose it is not that … [Read more...]
Genetics and Genomics: How DNA Studies Are Changing Malaria Vector Control
From bacteria to humans, each cell that makes up every organism on Earth contains the entire genetic code of that particular individual. The code is written in deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA for short, composed of just four types of proteins (called nucleotides) represented by letters, A, T, C and G. This genetic code, known as the genome, may be billions of nucleotides long. The genome, which is … [Read more...]
Insecticide Susceptibility Status of Phlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) Sergenti and Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus) Papatasi in Endemic Foci of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Morocco
In Morocco, cutaneous leishmaniasis is transmitted by Phlebotomus sergenti and Ph. papatasi. Vector control is mainly based on environmental management but indoor residual spraying with synthetic pyrethroids is applied in many foci of Leishmania tropica. However, the levels and distribution of sandfly susceptibility to insecticides currently used has not been studied yet. Hence, this study was … [Read more...]
How to Prevent Malaria
QUESTION: What is the prevention of malaria? ANSWER: Malaria can be prevented in a number of ways, the main three of which are bite reduction, prophylaxis and vector control. Bite reduction just means steering clear of mosquitoes, and specifically those that transmit malaria. These bite mostly between dusk and dawn, so if walking around at these times of day in a malarial area, it is … [Read more...]
Toxic Sugar Bait Can Help Control Mosquitos
An improved knowledge of mosquito life history could strengthen malaria vector control efforts that primarily focus on killing mosquitoes indoors using insecticide treated nets and indoor residual spraying. Natural sugar sources, usually floral nectars of plants, are a primary energy resource for adult mosquitoes but their role in regulating the dynamics of mosquito populations is unclear. To … [Read more...]