Search

Background: Many of the mosquito species responsible for malaria transmission belong to a sibling complex; a taxonomic group of morphologically identical, closely related species. Sibling species often differ in several important factors that have the potential to impact malaria control, including their geographical distribution, resistance to insecticides, biting and resting locations, and host preference. The aim of this study was to define the geographical distributions of dominant malaria vector sibling species in Africa so these distributions can be coupled with data on key factors such as insecticide resistance to aid more focussed, species-selective vector control., Results: Within the Anopheles gambiae species complex and the Anopheles funestus subgroup, predicted geographical distributions for Anopheles coluzzii, An. gambiae (as now defined) and An. funestus (distinct from the subgroup) have been produced for the first time. Improved predicted geographical distributions for Anopheles arabiensis, Anopheles melas and Anopheles merus have been generated based on records that were confirmed using molecular identification methods and a model that addresses issues of sampling bias and past changes to the environment. The data available for insecticide resistance has been evaluated and differences between sibling species are apparent although further analysis is required to elucidate trends in resistance., Conclusions: Sibling species display important variability in their geographical distributions and the most important malaria vector sibling species in Africa have been mapped here for the first time. This will allow geographical occurrence data to be coupled with species-specific data on important factors for vector control including insecticide resistance. Species-specific data on insecticide resistance is available for the most important malaria vectors in Africa, namely An. arabiensis, An. coluzzii, An. gambiae and An. funestus. Future work to combine these data with the geographical distributions mapped here will allow more focussed and resource-efficient vector control and provide information to greatly improve and inform existing malaria transmission models.

Dengue and chikungunya are increasing global public health concerns due to their rapid geographical spread and increasing disease burden. Knowledge of the contemporary distribution of their shared vectors, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus remains incomplete and is complicated by an ongoing range expansion fuelled by increased global trade and travel. Mapping the global distribution of these vectors and the geographical determinants of their ranges is essential for public health planning. Here we compile the largest contemporary database for both species and pair it with relevant environmental variables predicting their global distribution. We show Aedes distributions to be the widest ever recorded; now extensive in all continents, including North America and Europe. These maps will help define the spatial limits of current autochthonous transmission of dengue and chikungunya viruses. It is only with this kind of rigorous entomological baseline that we can hope to project future health impacts of these viruses.

Malaria remains one of the greatest human health burdens in Indonesia. Although Indonesia has a long and renowned history in the early research and discoveries of malaria and subsequently in the successful use of environmental control methods to combat the vector, much remains unknown about many of these mosquito species. There are also significant gaps in the existing knowledge on the transmission epidemiology of malaria, most notably in the highly malarious eastern half of the archipelago. These compound the difficulty of developing targeted and effective control measures. The sheer complexity and number of malaria vectors in the country are daunting. The difficult task of summarizing the available information for each species and/or species complex is compounded by the patchiness of the data: while relatively plentiful in one area or region, it can also be completely lacking in others. Compared to many other countries in the Oriental and Australasian biogeographical regions, only scant information on vector bionomics and response to chemical measures is available in Indonesia. That information is often either decades old, geographically patchy or completely lacking. Additionally, a large number of information sources are published in Dutch or Indonesian language and therefore less accessible. This review aims to present an updated overview of the known distribution and bionomics of the 20 confirmed malaria vector species or species complexes regarded as either primary or secondary (incidental) malaria vectors within Indonesia. This chapter is not an exhaustive review of each of these species. No attempt is made to specifically discuss or resolve the taxonomic record of listed species in this document, while recognizing the ever evolving revisions in the systematics of species groups and complexes. A review of past and current status of insecticide susceptibility of eight vector species of malaria is also provided., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Global maps, in particular those based on vector distributions, have long been used to help visualise the global extent of malaria. Few, however, have been created with the support of a comprehensive and extensive evidence-based approach., Methods: Here we describe the generation of a global map of the dominant vector species (DVS) of malaria that makes use of predicted distribution maps for individual species or species complexes., Results: Our global map highlights the spatial variability in the complexity of the vector situation. In Africa, An. gambiae, An. arabiensis and An. funestus are co-dominant across much of the continent, whereas in the Asian-Pacific region there is a highly complex situation with multi-species coexistence and variable species dominance., Conclusions: The competence of the mapping methodology to accurately portray DVS distributions is discussed. The comprehensive and contemporary database of species-specific spatial occurrence (currently available on request) will be made directly available via the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) website from early 2012.