Aedes albopictus in northeast Mexico: An update on adult distribution and first report of parasitism by Ascogregarina taiwanensis

ABSTRACT Background & objectives: Aedes albopictus has been known as efficient vector of dengue in Asian countries and its wide displacement of Ae. aegypti has been documented in many parts of the world. The present survey was carried out to update the distribution of Ae. albopictus in northeast Mexico and to report the first record of parasitism of mosquitoes by Ascogregarina taiwanensis in Mexico

Synergy in Efficacy of Fungal Entomopathogens and Permethrin against West African Insecticide-Resistant Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes

Background Increasing incidences of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors are threatening the sustainable use of contemporary chemical vector control measures. Fungal entomopathogens provide a possible additional tool for the control of insecticide-resistant malaria mosquitoes. This study investigated the compatibility of the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin and two mosquito-pathogenic fungi, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae, against a laboratory colony and field population of West African insecticide-resistant Anopheles gambiae s.s. mosquitoes. Methodology/Findings A range of fungus-insecticide combinations was used to test effects of timing and sequence of exposure. Both the laboratory-reared and field-collected mosquitoes were highly resistant to permethrin but susceptible to B. bassiana and M. anisopliae infection, inducing 100% mortality within nine days. Combinations of insecticide and fungus showed synergistic effects on mosquito survival. Fungal infection increased permethrin-induced mortality rates in wild An. gambiae s.s. mosquitoes and reciprocally, exposure to permethrin increased subsequent fungal-induced mortality rates in both colonies. Simultaneous co-exposure induced the highest mortality; up to 70.3±2% for a combined Beauveria and permethrin exposure within a time range of one gonotrophic cycle (4 days). Conclusions/Significance Combining fungi and permethrin induced a higher impact on mosquito survival than the use of these control agents alone. The observed synergism in efficacy shows the potential for integrated fungus-insecticide control measures to dramatically reduce malaria transmission and enable control at more moderate levels of coverage even in areas where insecticide resistance has rendered pyrethroids essentially ineffective

Multiorgan MRI findings after hospitalisation with COVID-19 in the UK (C-MORE): a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction: The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures. Methods: In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025. Findings: Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years [SD 12]; 158 [61%] male and 101 [39%] female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years [SD 14]; 30 [58%] male and 22 [42%] female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 [61%] of 259 vs 14 [27%] of 52; p<0·0001) and independently associated with COVID-19 status (odds ratio [OR] 2·9 [95% CI 1·5–5·8]; padjusted=0·0023) after adjusting for relevant confounders. Compared with controls, patients were more likely to have MRI evidence of lung abnormalities (p=0·0001; parenchymal abnormalities), brain abnormalities (p<0·0001; more white matter hyperintensities and regional brain volume reduction), and kidney abnormalities (p=0·014; lower medullary T1 and loss of corticomedullary differentiation), whereas cardiac and liver MRI abnormalities were similar between patients and controls. Patients with multiorgan abnormalities were older (difference in mean age 7 years [95% CI 4–10]; mean age of 59·8 years [SD 11·7] with multiorgan abnormalities vs mean age of 52·8 years [11·9] without multiorgan abnormalities; p<0·0001), more likely to have three or more comorbidities (OR 2·47 [1·32–4·82]; padjusted=0·0059), and more likely to have a more severe acute infection (acute CRP >5mg/L, OR 3·55 [1·23–11·88]; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation. Interpretation: After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification

Pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles gambiae, in Bomi County, Liberia, compromises malaria vector control.

BACKGROUND: Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLIN) and Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) have both proven to be effective malaria vector control strategies in Africa and the new technology of insecticide treated durable wall lining (DL) is being evaluated. Sustaining these interventions at high coverage levels is logistically challenging and, furthermore, the increase in insecticide resistance in African malaria vectors may reduce the efficacy of these chemical based interventions. Monitoring of vector populations and evaluation of the efficacy of insecticide based control approaches should be integral components of malaria control programmes. This study reports on entomological survey conducted in 2011 in Bomi County, Liberia. METHODS: Anopheles gambiae larvae were collected from four sites in Bomi, Liberia, and reared in a field insectary. Two to five days old female adult An gambiae s.l. were tested using WHO tube (n=2027) and cone (n=580) bioassays in houses treated with DL or IRS. A sample of mosquitoes (n=169) were identified to species/molecular form and screened for the presence of knock down resistance (kdr) alleles associated with pyrethroid resistance. RESULTS: Anopheles gambiae s.l tested were resistant to deltamethrin but fully susceptible to bendiocarb and fenithrothion. The corrected mortality of local mosquitoes exposed to houses treated with deltamethrin either via IRS or DL was 12% and 59% respectively, suggesting that resistance may affect the efficacy of these interventions. The presence of pyrethroid resistance was associated with a high frequency of the 1014F kdr allele (90.5%) although this mutation alone cannot explain the resistance levels observed. CONCLUSION: High prevalence of resistance to deltamethrin in Bomi County may reduce the efficacy of malaria strategies relying on this class of insecticide. The findings highlight the urgent need to expand and sustain monitoring of insecticide resistance in Liberian malaria vectors, evaluate the effectiveness of existing interventions and develop appropriate resistance management strategies

Effect of fungus on permethrin sensitivity.

<p>Mean (± SEM) percentage permethrin-induced mortality of uninfected (white), <i>Beauveria</i>-infected (grey) and <i>Metarhizium</i>-infected (black) mosquitoes from the laboratory colony (top) and field <i>An. gambiae s.s</i> population (bottom). Data show mortality rates measured 24 hrs after permethrin exposure on day 0 (left) and day 3 (right), from ten laboratory and eight field replicates of 28 females per group. Mortality rates of fungus-infected groups exposed to permethrin on day 3 (*) were corrected for mortality of corresponding fungus-infected groups exposed to control papers. Significant differences are indicated by non-corresponding letters.</p

Permethrin sensitivity.

<p>Mean (± SEM) proportional mortality of uninfected insecticide-resistant mosquitoes from the laboratory (left) and field population (right) 24 hrs after permethrin-exposure. White bars represent permethrin-induced mortality of 3-day old mosquitoes exposed once on day 0. Grey bars show mortality of 6-day old mosquitoes exposed once on day 3. Black bars show permethrin-induced mortality after a second exposure on day 3 of 6-day old mosquitoes that had survived a first exposure on day 0. From left to right, data depict 10, 5, 5, 8, 4, and 4 replicate groups of 28 females, with significant differences in group means indicated by non-corresponding letters.</p

Synergistic interactions between fungus and permethrin.

<p>*Expected mortality (M_e)  =  M_f + M_i (1 - M_f/100), with M_f and M_i being observed percent mortalities caused by the fungus and the insecticide alone respectively.</p><p>Synergistic effects between permethrin (Perm) and the fungus <i>Beauveria</i> (Bb) or <i>Metarhizium</i> (Ma) on laboratory (df = 4) and field (df = 3) <i>kdr</i> mosquito survival. Results show outcomes of paired-samples T-test comparisons of observed and expected cumulative day 4 mortality rates (mean ± SE), with significant synergy indicated in bold.</p