Project B: Transmission I Vector Bionomics

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Abstract Progress in the control of malaria has been substantial in the past five years, with estimated reductions in global deaths due to malaria at 60% and cases of malaria down by 37%. Despite the adoption of elimination strategies by many countries, sub-Saharan Africa still bears the majority of the global malaria burden, with more than 90% of the 438,000 annual deaths occurring in this part of the world. Vector control is the mainstay of malaria prevention, yet despite continued delivery of such interventions, transmission persists in many areas. A major factor contributing to this is the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of vectors that, in part, drive the differences observed in malaria transmission biology and epidemiology at both global and national scales. Entomological data is essential in guiding appropriate, effective, and cost-efficient malaria interventions and can identify gaps in existing control measures; however, most governments of malaria endemic countries lack the resources to carry out detailed investigations of vector dynamics. Building upon the infrastructure, expertise, and relationships developed by the Southern Africa ICEMR, and utilizing the more than 4 years of entomologic data generated under that study, this projects aims to define and extrapolate risk of vector exposure in the context of ongoing programmatic control at a high transmission setting along the northern Zambia/Democratic Republic of Congo border and at a low transmission setting in southern Zambia. It is expected that vector composition and behaviors will differ geographically, resulting in the varied epidemiology of disease in each setting. A total profile, including both indoor and outdoor biting anophelines, with a focus on secondary vectors, will provide a much more comprehensive understanding of vector biology and residual transmission. Vector activity overlaid with data of human behavior will allow quantification of exposure that cannot be controlled by indoor-targeted interventions. Heterogeneity in human attractiveness will be studied using state-of-the-art analyses of human odors. We will use satellite-derived variables and climate data from both stationary weather stations and those remotely sensed to generate entomological risk maps over time for the study areas and extend to areas where entomological collections cannot be conducted. Finally, we will utilize changes in parasite genetic diversity in vector mosquitoes as an indicator of successful vector control and reduction of transmission in high transmission settings in Zambia and the DRC. These data will help guide better targeting and evaluation of control interventions in these areas and areas with similar ecology.