Search

Ivermectin (IVM)-treated birds provide the potential for targeted control of Culex mosquitoes to reduce West Nile virus (WNV) transmission. Ingestion of IVM increases mosquito mortality, which could reduce WNV transmission from birds to humans and in enzootic maintenance cycles affecting predominantly bird-feeding mosquitoes and from birds to humans. This strategy might also provide an alternative method for WNV control that is less hampered by insecticide resistance and the logistics of large-scale pesticide applications. Through a combination of field studies and modeling, we assessed the feasibility and impact of deploying IVM-treated birdfeed in residential neighborhoods to reduce WNV transmission. We first tracked 105 birds using radio telemetry and radio frequency identification to monitor their feeder usage and locations of nocturnal roosts in relation to five feeder sites in a neighborhood in Fort Collins, Colorado. Using these results, we then modified a compartmental model of WNV transmission to account for the impact of IVM on mosquito mortality and spatial movement of birds and mosquitoes on the neighborhood level. We found that, while the number of treated lots in a neighborhood strongly influenced the total transmission potential, the arrangement of treated lots in a neighborhood had little effect. Increasing the proportion of treated birds, regardless of the WNV competency status, resulted in a larger reduction in infection dynamics than only treating competent birds. Taken together, model results indicate that deployment of IVM-treated feeders could reduce local transmission throughout the WNV season, including reducing the enzootic transmission prior to the onset of human infections, with high spatial coverage and rates of IVM-induced mortality in mosquitoes. To improve predictions, more work is needed to refine estimates of daily mosquito movement in urban areas and rates of IVM-induced mortality. Our results can guide future field trials of this control strategy.

BackgroundVector control strategies typically rely on pesticides to target mosquitoes involved in enzootic and zoonotic transmission of West Nile virus (WNV). Nevertheless, increasing insecticide resistance and a desire to reduce pesticide usage provide the impetus for developing alternative strategies. Ivermectin (IVM), an antiparasitic drug which is widely used in human and veterinary medicine, is a potential alternative for targeted control because Culex mosquitoes experience increased mortality following ingestion of IVM in bloodmeals.Methodology/principal findingsWe conducted a randomized field trial to investigate the impact of treating backyard chicken flocks with IVM in urban neighborhoods across Davis, California on mosquito populations and WNV transmission dynamics. We observed a significant reduction in WNV seroconversions in treated vs. untreated chickens, suggesting a reduction in WNV transmission intensity around treated flocks. We also detected a reduction in parity rates of Cx. tarsalis near treated vs. untreated flocks and increased mortality in wild mosquitoes following a bloodmeal on treated chickens (IVM serum concentration > 5ng/mL) vs. chickens with IVM serum concentrations < 5 ng/mL. However, we did not find a significant difference in abundance or infection prevalence in mosquitoes between treatment groups associated with the reductions in seroconversions. Mosquito immigration from surrounding larval habitat, relatively low WNV activity in the study area, and variable IVM serum concentrations likely contributed to uncertainty about the impact.Conclusions/significanceTaken together, our results point to a reduction in WNV transmission due to the impact of IVM on Culex mosquito populations and support the ongoing investigation of oral administration of IVM to wild birds for local control of WNV transmission, although further work is needed to optimize dosing and understand effects on entomological endpoints.

Mosquitoes are responsible for the transmission of numerous viruses of global health significance. The term "vector competence" describes the intrinsic ability of an arthropod vector to transmit an infectious agent. Prior to transmission, the mosquito itself presents a complex and hostile environment through which a virus must transit to ensure propagation and transmission to the next host. Viruses imbibed in an infectious blood meal must pass in and out of the mosquito midgut, traffic through the body cavity or hemocoel, invade the salivary glands, and be expelled with the saliva when the vector takes a subsequent blood meal. Viruses encounter physical, cellular, microbial, and immunological barriers, which are influenced by the genetic background of the mosquito vector as well as environmental conditions. Collectively, these factors place significant selective pressure on the virus that impact its evolution and transmission. Here, we provide an overview of the current state of the field in understanding the mosquitospecific factors that underpin vector competence and how each of these mechanisms may influence virus evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-transmitted flavivirus, has been isolated from sentinel monkeys, mosquitoes, and sick persons in Africa and Southeast Asia (1,2). Serologic surveys indicate that ZIKV infections can be [...]

Abstract Background When ingested in a blood meal, ivermectin has been shown to reduce the survivorship of Anopheles gambiae in the laboratory and field. Furthermore, ivermectin mass drug administrations in Senegal have been shown to reduce the proportion of Plasmodium falciparum-sporozoite-containing An. gambiae. This study addresses whether ivermectin inhibits sporogony of P. falciparum in An. gambiae. Methods Anophele gambiae s.s. G3 strain were fed two concentrations of ivermectin (LC25 and LC5) along with P. falciparum NF54 in human blood meals at staggered intervals. Mosquitoes ingested ivermectin concurrent with parasites (DPI 0), or at three (DPI 3), six (DPI 6), and nine (DPI 9) days post parasite ingestion, or three days prior (DPI −3) to parasite ingestion. Mosquitoes were dissected at seven, twelve or fourteen days post parasite ingestion and either oocyst or sporozoite prevalence was recorded. To determine if P. falciparum sporozoite-containing An. gambiae were more susceptible to ivermectin than uninfected controls, survivorship was recorded for mosquitoes which ingested P. falciparum or control blood meal on DPI 0 and then a second blood meal containing ivermectin (LC25) on DPI 14. Results Ivermectin (LC25) co-ingested (DPI 0) with parasites reduced the proportion of An. gambiae that developed oocysts (χ2 = 15.4842, P = 0.0002) and sporozoites (χ2 = 19.9643, P < 0.0001). Ivermectin (LC25) ingested DPI 6 (χ2 = 8.5103, P = 0.0044) and 9 (χ2 = 14.7998, P < 0.0001) reduced the proportion of An. gambiae that developed sporozoites but not when ingested DPI 3 (χ2 = 0.0113, P = 1). Ivermectin (LC5) co-ingested (DPI 0) with parasites did not reduce the proportion of An. gambiae that developed oocysts (χ2 = 4.2518, P = 0.0577) or sporozoites (χ2 = 2.3636, P = 0.1540), however, when ingested DPI −3 the proportion of An. gambiae that developed sporozoites was reduced (χ2 = 8.4806, P = 0.0047). Plasmodium falciparum infection significantly reduced the survivorship of An. gambiae that ingested ivermectin (LC25) on DPI 14 compared to control mosquitoes that ingested a primary blood meal without parasites (χ2 = 4.97, P = 0.0257). Conclusions Ivermectin at sub-lethal concentrations inhibits the sporogony of P. falciparum in An. gambiae. These findings support the utility of ivermectin for P. falciparum transmission control.

Abstract Background Over two dozen mermithid nematodes have been described parasitizing mosquitoes worldwide, however, only two species were found in Africa. Mermithid nematodes kill their mosquito host upon emergence, which suggests that they could be developed as biological control agents of mosquitoes. Both Romanomermis culicivorax and Romanomermis iyengari have been reared for mass release to control numerous Anopheles species vector populations, and in one instance this may have led to reduced malaria prevalence in a human population. Methods Anopheles mosquitoes were collected during a malaria study in southeastern Senegal. Two different adult blood fed mosquitoes had a single mermithid nematode emerge from their anus while they were being held post-capture. Primers from the 18 S rDNA were developed to sequence nematode DNA and screen mosquitoes for mermithid DNA. 18 S rDNA from the Senegalese mermithid and other mermithid entries in GenBank were used to create a Maximum Parsimony tree of the Mermithidae family. Results The mermithid was present in 1.8% (10/551) of the sampled adult Anopheles species in our study area. The mermithid was found in An. gambiae s.s., An. funestus, and An. rufipes from the villages of Ndebou, Boundoucondi, and Damboucoye. Maximum parsimony analysis confirmed that the nematode parasites found in Anopheles were indeed mermithid parasites, and of the mermithid sequences available in GenBank, they are most closely related to Strelkovimermis spiculatus. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first report of mermithids from adult Anopheles mosquitoes in Senegal. The mermithid appears to infect Anopheles mosquitoes that develop in diverse larval habitats. Although maximum parsimony analysis determined the mermithid was closely related to Strelkovimermis spiculatus, several characteristics of the mermithid were more similar to the Empidomermis genus. Future mermithid isolations will hopefully allow: formal taxonomic identification, laboratory colonization, determination of life history traits and species specificity, and characterize its usefulness as a biological control agent.