Determination of the role of Anopheles species as malaria vector in Meta department, Colombia

Con el fin de actualizar las especies del género Anopheles presentes en el departamento de Meta y establecer el papel de cada una de ellas en la transmisión de la malaria se realizó entre junio de 2007 y junio de 2009 la recolección de material entomológico en seis municipios del Meta. Para la confirmación taxonómica se utilizaron las series entomológicas y la secuencia de nucleótidos del espaciador transcrito intergénico dos (ITS2) del ADN ribosomal y del gen mitocondrial citocromo oxidasa I (COI). Para conocer aspectos de la biología se realizaron capturas con atrayente humano, búsqueda en sitios de cría y detección de infección con Plasmodium spp con la técnica de ELISA. Se identificaron An. argyritarsis, An. braziliensis, An. costai, An. darlingi, An. neomaculipalpus, An. nimbus, An. peryassui, An. pseudopunctipennis s.l. y An. rangeli. De los complejos de especies se confirmó An. marajoara, An. triannulatus s.s. y An. oswaldoi B. An. darlingi, fue la especie más abundante en las capturas con atrayente humano y en sitios de cría, presentó una amplia distribución en el departamento, estuvo presente todo el año y durante toda la noche en el intradomiclio y peridomicilio, exhibió una mayor actividad entre las 18:00 y 22:00 horas y se encontró infectada con P. falciparum. Se determinó la presencia de otras especies de Anopheles con antecedentes de infección con especies de Plasmodium o vectores reconocidos, sin embargo, solo se encontraron evidencias para confirmar a An. darlingi como vector de malaria en el Meta. / Abstract. This study was designed to update the taxonomic determination of the Anopheles species present in Meta Department and establish the role of each one of them in the malaria transmission. From July 2007 to June 2009, mosquitoes were collected by human-landing catches and breeding site collections in six municipalities. Specimens were firstly identified based on morphological characters, and later confirmed using DNA sequences of the mtDNA COI barcoding region and or the nuclear second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2). ELISA was used to identify positive mosquitoes of Plasmodium spp. CS protein. A total of 5.215 mosquitoes were determined using the integration of morphological characters from all life stages and molecular sequence data. This enabled the taxonomic verification of the following 12 taxa: An. argyritarsis, An. braziliensis, An. costai, An. darlingi, An. neomaculipalpus, An. nimbus, An. peryassui, An. pseudopunctipennis s.l., An. rangeli, An. marajoara, An. triannulatus s.s. y An. oswaldoi B. An. darlingi, was the most abundant species in human-landing catches and breeding sites, presented a wide distribution, was present all the year and during the all night in the indoors and outdoors, exhibited a major activity between 18:00 and 22:00 hours and was infected with P. falciparum. 12 Anopheles species were found, some considered as vectors elsewhere. However, only An. darlingi could be confirmed as a vector of malaria in Meta.Maestría en infecciones y salud en el trópicoMaestrí

Malaria risk stratification in Colombia 2010 to 2019.

BackgroundHeterogeneity and focalization are the most common epidemiological characteristics of endemic countries in the Americas, where malaria transmission is moderate and low. During malaria elimination, the first step is to perform a risk stratification exercise to prioritize interventions. This study aimed to identify malaria risk strata in the ecoepidemiological regions of Colombia.MethodsThis was a descriptive and retrospective study using cumulative malaria cases in 1,122 municipalities of Colombia from 2010 to 2019. To identify the strata, the criteria proposed by PAHO were adapted. To classify the receptive areas (strata 2, 3, and 4) and nonreceptive areas (stratum 1), 1,600 m above sea level, ecotypes, main malaria vector presence, Plasmodium species prevalence and occurrence of malaria cases were used. The area occupied by the receptive municipalities, the cumulative burden, and the at-risk population in the regions were calculated.ResultsNinety-one percent of the Colombian territory is receptive to the transmission of malaria and includes 749 municipalities with 9,734,271 (9,514,243-9,954,299) million at-risk inhabitants. Stratum 4 accounted for 96.7% of the malaria burden, and cases were concentrated primarily in the Pacific and Uraba-Bajo Cauca-Sinu-San Jorge regions. Plasmodium vivax predominates in most of the receptive municipalities, except in the municipalities of the Pacific region, where P. falciparum predominates. Anopheles albimanus, An. nuneztovari s.l., and An. darlingi were the main vectors in receptive areas.ConclusionsIn Colombia, 91.2% of the territory is receptive to the transmission of malaria and is characterized by being both heterogeneous and focused. Stratum 4 contains the greatest burden of disease, with a relatively greater proportion of municipalities with a predominance of P. vivax. However, there is a low proportion of municipalities with P. falciparum mainly in the Pacific region. These findings suggest that the latter be prioritized within the malaria elimination plan in Colombia

Naturaleza urbana. Plataforma de experiencias

Naturaleza Urbana presenta experiencias autogestionadas que, con el tiempo, se han posicionado como ejercicios alternativos de identificación, monitoreo y recuperación de la biodiversidad urbana. En otros casos, el modelo comunidad-gobierno ha permitido desarrollar diagnósticos y propuestas de gestión corresponsables y sistémicas, entendiendo por esto último iniciativas que nacen desde los valores mismos que cada comunidad le atribuye a su biodiversidad. Del mismo modo, se presentan esfuerzos gubernamentales que han enriquecido la visión ambiental de los principales instrumentos de planificación urbana, por ejemplo, integrando la condición propiamente urbana como oportunidad para aumentar la oferta ambiental de la ciudad, fortaleciendo las funciones y procesos de la biodiversidad y revitalizando, con ello, la calidad de vida del entorno urbano. Por su parte, las universidades y los centros de investigación se han sumado a la ola emergente de generación de conocimiento en biodiversidad urbana (fenómeno nacional e internacional), han brindado evidencia científica de su valor para el bienestar humano y han propuesto reflexiones y lineamientos cualitativos de biodiversidad, con miras a hacer del ordenamiento un ejercicio más coherente con cada contexto territorial en particular.Bogotá, D. C., ColombiaInstituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humbold

Urban Nature

Preservation, restoration, monitoring of biodiversity and promotion of native species, in their strict and classical sense, could be unviable strategies in the cities. Management systems such as the protected areas acquire profoundly different connotations and objectives from the traditional ones when thought of in the context of a city. Similarly, although ecological restoration seeks to return to a baseline ecosystem, there is little that we know about the vegetation present on the urban borders of the main Colombian cities prior to the 20th century. Finally, the models for potential distribution of species could produce unreliable results, because their methodological bases were not conceived based on urban dynamics. In this context, to de ne urban biodiversity and what strategy must be applied for its conservation implies a challenge that, beyond being scienti c, is necessarily social and cultural and involves planning and design. Innovation is inevitable.Bogotá, D. C