Mali ICEMR: Malaria Vector Ecology and Transmission Dynamics

摘要 ICEMR的这一项目侧重于马里西部按蚊媒介种群的生态 非洲，与大多数非洲国家一样，目前在房屋内使用的病媒控制工具不足以 成功地实现疟疾控制和当地消除。更好地了解疟疾媒介和 传输生态是必要的。对疟疾媒介的研究通常是在农村进行的，因为这是 在那里蚊子以人类为食并传播疟疾寄生虫。更少的人知道是如何 村庄外围以外的媒介生态会影响传播。村外生态的主要差距 在对传播动力学的理解中存在的主要空白包括：1)来源和存活率 媒介种群在漫长旱季的策略；2)媒介的生存和传播潜力 受当地用于休息和喂糖的环境资源的影响；以及3)最近如何- 在按蚊中发现的沃尔巴克氏菌自然感染可能会影响传播。因此， 该项目的目标是调查疟疾病媒和传播场中被忽视的重要方面。 在马里的四个地点，代表了横跨撒哈拉以南萨赫勒地区的三个主要生态区。 研究地点已经很好地描述了媒介种群的特征，季节性恶性疟原虫 传播学和疟疾流行病学。这个项目建立在马里广泛的初步研究基础上， 包括三个具体目标：1)评估疟疾病媒如何利用有限的自然和往往神秘的栖息地作为 旱季的避难所以及这些栖息地如何作为人口扩张的来源 降雨开始；2)确定当地环境资源如何用于病媒休息和喂糖 行为对疟疾寄生虫传播动态的影响；以及3)调查沃尔巴克氏菌和 不同地区冈比亚按蚊复合体自然种群中恶性疟原虫的寄生 生态环境和实验测试沃尔巴克氏菌如何影响媒介能力。创新方面 包括：第一，初步结果显示尼日尔河沿岸的孤立避难所，在那里干涸 冈比亚按蚊复合体的密度在季节很高，实际上主要以蚊子为食 鸟类，让人相信综合方法(地面搜索、安装在相机上的无人机和卫星 图像)可用于识别和定义作为病媒种群来源的神秘旱季生境 在旱季。其次，这是第一个研究如何解决媒介食糖和 特别是在入侵植物和农业植物上休息会影响传播。第三，这是第一个纵向的 沃尔巴克氏菌感染非洲疟疾媒介种群的生态学研究，并首次研究了沃尔巴克氏菌是如何感染非洲疟疾媒介人群的 沃尔巴克氏菌感染会影响媒介生物的能力。关于媒介生态如何影响疾病传播的新见解 马里的三个生态区将提供所需的实地证据，以了解如何克服 西非消除疟疾的障碍。 好了！

SUMMARY This project of the ICEMR focuses on the ecology of Anopheles malaria vector populations in Mali, West Africa, where, as in most African countries, current vector control tools used inside houses are not sufficient to achieve successful malaria control and local elimination. A better understanding of malaria vector and transmission ecology is needed. Research on malaria vectors is typically done in villages because this is where mosquitoes blood-feed on humans and transmit malaria parasites. Much less is known about how the ecology of vectors beyond the periphery of villages affects transmission. Key gaps in outside-village ecology that represent a major void in the understanding of transmission dynamics include: 1) sources and survival strategies of vector populations during the long dry season; 2) how vector survival and transmission potential are influenced by local environmental resources used for resting and sugar feeding; and 3) how recently- discovered natural infections of Wolbachia in anopheline mosquitoes may impact transmission. Therefore, the goal of this project is to investigate important neglected aspects of malaria vector and transmission field ecology at four sites in Mali, representing three major eco-zones that span the sub-Saharan Sahel region. Study sites are already well characterized with respect to vector populations, seasonal Plasmodium falciparum transmission, and malaria epidemiology. This project, which builds on extensive preliminary studies in Mali, includes three specific aims: 1) Evaluate how malaria vectors use limited natural and often cryptic habitats as refugia during the dry season and how these habitats serve as the source for population expansion with the onset of rains; 2) Determine how local environmental resources used for vector resting and sugar-feeding behavior impact malaria parasite transmission dynamics; and 3) Investigate the prevalence of Wolbachia and Plasmodium falciparum parasites in natural populations of the Anopheles gambiae complex in different ecological settings and experimentally test how Wolbachia affects vector competence. Innovative aspects include: First, preliminary results demonstrating isolated refugia along the River Niger, where during the dry season high densities of Anopheles gambiae complex mosquitoes exist and actually feed predominantly on birds, gives confidence that an integrated approach (ground searches, camera mounted drones, and satellite imagery) can be used to identify and define cryptic dry season habitats that are sources of vector populations during the dry season. Second, this is the first study to address the question of how vector sugar-feeding and resting specifically on invasive and agricultural plants affects transmission. Third, this is the first longitudinal ecological study of Wolbachia infecting malaria vector populations in Africa, and the first to examine how Wolbachia infections impact vector competence. New insights how on vector ecology impacts transmission in three eco-zones in Mali will provide field-based evidence needed for understanding how to overcome major barriers to malaria elimination in West Africa. !