BackgroundThe mosquito resistance to the insecticides threatens malaria control efforts, potentially becoming a major public health issue. Alternative methods like ivermectin (IVM) administration to humans has been suggested as a possible vector control to reduce Plasmodium transmission. Anopheles aquasalis and Anopheles darlingi are competent vectors for Plasmodium vivax, and they have been responsible for various malaria outbreaks in the coast of Brazil and the Amazon Region of South America.MethodsTo determine the IVM susceptibility against P. vivax in An. aquasalis and An. darlingi, ivermectin were mixed in P. vivax infected blood: (1) Powdered IVM at four concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20 or 40 ng/mL). (2) Plasma (0 hours, 4 hours, 1 day, 5, 10 and 14 days) was collected from healthy volunteers after to administer a single oral dose of IVM (200 μg/kg) (3) Mosquitoes infected with P. vivax and after 4 days was provided with IVM plasma collected 4 hours post-treatment (4) P. vivax-infected patients were treated with various combinations of IVM, chloroquine, and primaquine and plasma or whole blood was collected at 4 hours. Seven days after the infective blood meal, mosquitoes were dissected to evaluate oocyst presence. Additionally, the ex vivo effects of IVM against asexual blood-stage P. vivax was evaluated.ResultsIVM significantly reduced the prevalence of An. aquasalis that developed oocysts in 10 to 40 ng/mL pIVM concentrations and plasma 4 hours, 1 day and 5 days. In An. darlingi to 4 hours and 1 day. The An. aquasalis mortality was expressively increased in pIVM (40ng/mL) and plasma 4 hours, 1, 5 10 and 14 days post-intake drug and in An. darlingi only to 4 hours and 1 day. The double fed meal with mIVM by the mosquitoes has a considerable impact on the proportion of infected mosquitoes for 7 days post-feeding. The oocyst infection prevalence and intensity were notably reduced when mosquitoes ingested blood from P. vivax patients that ingested IVM+CQ, PQ+CQ and IVM+PQ+CQ. P. vivax asexual development was considerably inhibited by mIVM at four-fold dilutions.ConclusionIn conclusion, whole blood spiked with IVM reduced the infection rate of P. vivax in An. aquasalis and An. darlingi, and increased the mortality of mosquitoes. Plasma from healthy volunteers after IVM administration affect asexual P. vivax development. These findings support that ivermectin may be used to decrease P. vivax transmission.

BackgroundOutdoor malaria transmission hinders malaria elimination efforts in the Amazon region and novel vector control tools are needed. Ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA) to humans kills wild Anopheles, targets outdoor-feeding vectors, and can suppress malaria parasite transmission. Laboratory investigations were performed to determine ivermectin susceptibility, sporontocidal effect and inhibition of time to re-feed for the primary Amazonian malaria vector, Anopheles darlingi.MethodsTo assess ivermectin susceptibility, various concentrations of ivermectin were mixed in human blood and fed to An. darlingi. Mosquito survival was monitored daily for 7 days and a non-linear mixed effects model with Probit analysis was used to calculate lethal concentrations of ivermectin that killed 50% (LC50), 25% (LC25) and 5% (LC5) of mosquitoes. To examine ivermectin sporonticidal effect, Plasmodium vivax blood samples were collected from malaria patients and offered to mosquitoes without or with ivermectin at the LC50, LC25 or LC5. To assess ivermectin inhibition of mosquito time to re-feed, concentrations of ivermectin predicted to occur after a single oral dose of 200 μg/kg ivermectin were fed to An. darlingi. Every day for 12 days thereafter, individual mosquitoes were given the opportunity to re-feed on a volunteer. Any mosquitoes that re-blood fed or died were removed from the study.ResultsIvermectin significantly reduced An. darlingi survivorship: 7-day-LC50 = 43.2 ng/ml [37.5, 48.6], -LC25 = 27.8 ng/ml [20.4, 32.9] and -LC5 = 14.8 ng/ml [7.9, 20.2]. Ivermectin compound was sporontocidal to P. vivax in An. darlingi at the LC50 and LC25 concentrations reducing prevalence by 22.6 and 17.1%, respectively, but not at the LC5. Oocyst intensity was not altered at any concentration. Ivermectin significantly delayed time to re-feed at the 4-h (48.7 ng/ml) and 12-h (26.9 ng/ml) concentrations but not 36-h (10.6 ng/ml) or 60-h (6.3 ng/ml).ConclusionsIvermectin is lethal to An. darlingi, modestly inhibits sporogony of P. vivax, and delays time to re-feed at concentrations found in humans up to 12 h post drug ingestion. The LC50 value suggests that a higher than standard dose (400-μg/kg) is necessary to target An. darlingi. These results suggest that ivermectin MDA has potential in the Amazon region to aid malaria elimination efforts.

A 15-month bionomic study of Anopheles species was conducted in two ecologically distinct villages (coastal and upland) of Sukabumi District, West Java, Indonesia from June 2006 to September 2007. Mosquitoes were captured using human-landing collections at both sites. During the study, a total of 17,100 Anopheles mosquitoes comprising 13 Anopheles species were caught: 9,151 at the coastal site and 7,949 at the upland site. Anopheles barbirostris, Anopheles maculatus, and Anopheles vagus were the predominant species caught at the coastal site, and Anopheles aconitus, Anopheles barbirostris, and An. maculatus predominated in the upland site. Overall, species were exophagic at both sites, but there was variation between species. Anopheles aconitus was endophagic at the coastal site, exophagic at the upland site, collected most often in April 2007 and had a peak landing time between 22:00 and 23:00. Anopheles sundaicus was only collected at the coastal site, exophagic, collected most often in October 2006, and had a peak landing time between 19:00 and 20:00. Potential malaria vector species such An. aconitus, An. maculatus, and An. sundaicus were present throughout the year. None of the 7,770 Anopheles tested using CSP-ELISA were positive for malaria, although the risk for malaria outbreaks in Sukabumi district remains high.

Background and Purpose: Barrier insecticide treatments have a long history in mosquito control programs but have been used more frequently in the United States in recent years for control of invasive “backyard” species (eg, Aedes albopictus) and increases in incidence of vector-borne diseases (eg, Zika). Methods: We reviewed the published literature for studies investigating barrier treatments for mosquito control during the last 74 years (1944-2018). We searched databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to retrieve worldwide literature on barrier treatments. Results: Forty-four studies that evaluated 20 active ingredients (AIs) and 21 formulated products against multiple mosquito species are included. Insecticides investigated for efficacy included organochlorines (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [DDT], β-hexachlorocyclohexane [BHC]), organophosphates (malathion), and pyrethroids (bifenthrin, deltamethrin, permethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin) as AIs. Study design varied with multiple methods used to evaluate effectiveness of barrier treatments. Barrier treatments were effective at lowering mosquito populations although there was variation between studies and for different mosquito species. Factors other than AI, such as exposure to rainfall and application equipment used, also influenced control efficacy. Conclusions: Many of the basic questions on the effectiveness of barrier insecticide applications have been answered, but several important details still must be investigated to improve precision and impact on vector-borne pathogen transmission. Recommendations are made to assist future evaluations of barrier treatments for mosquito control and to limit the potential development of insecticide resistance.

A 12-mo ecological study of the spatial-temporal distribution of immature stages of Anopheles species was conducted in Sukabumi District, West Java, Indonesia. The study characterized 1,600 sites from a contiguous coastal and hill zone (0-800-m elevation) of which 64% contained Anopheles larvae. Principal component and multiple logistic regression analyses identified ecological parameters associated with presence of nine [Anopheles aconitus Doenitz, Anopheles annularis Van de Wulp, Anopheles barbirostris Van der Wulp, Anopheles flavirostris (Ludlow), Anopheles insulaeflorum (Swellengrebel and Swellengrebel de Graaf), Anopheles kochi Doenitz, Anopheles maculatus Theobald, Anopheles sundaicus (Rodenwaldt), and Anopheles vagus Doenitz] of 15 Anopheles species collected. Combined data for all nine species showed increased Anopheles presence associated with wet season periods and higher elevation habitats exhibiting reduced tree canopy coverage, higher water temperatures, and shallower water depths. Habitat variables measured included topography (elevation), water conditions (temperature, pH, salinity depth, and velocity), habitat characteristics (substrate and canopy cover), density and type of aquatic vegetation coverage (riparian, floating, and emergent), and distance from nearest human habitation. Significant relationships were found for nine species when using all habitats in the analysis. Habitat characteristics for three species were refined. An. aconitus and An. barbirostris were associated with higher elevation rice, Oryza savita L., paddies with relatively shallow water depths, higher water temperatures, higher acidity and salinity concentrations, and a greater average distance from human habitation. An. vagus presence in rice paddies was associated with lower elevation fields, deeper and cooler water, less acidic and saline conditions, and habitats closer to human dwellings. Overall, the distribution of Anopheles species in Sukabumi was found to be nonrandom and predictable on the basis of habitat characteristics.