Mosquito control by abatement programmes in the United States: perspectives and lessons for countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa and the United States are both large, heterogeneous geographies with a diverse range of ecologies, climates and mosquito species diversity which contribute to disease transmission and nuisance biting. In the United States, mosquito control is nationally, and regionally coordinated and in so much as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides guidance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides pesticide registration, and the states provide legal authority and oversight, the implementation is usually decentralized to the state, county, or city level. Mosquito control operations are organized, in most instances, into fully independent mosquito abatement districts, public works departments, local health departments. In some cases, municipalities engage independent private contractors to undertake mosquito control within their jurisdictions. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where most vector-borne disease endemic countries lie, mosquito control is organized centrally at the national level. In this model, the disease control programmes (national malaria control programmes or national malaria elimination programmes (NMCP/NMEP)) are embedded within the central governments' ministries of health (MoHs) and drive vector control policy development and implementation. Because of the high disease burden and limited resources, the primary endpoint of mosquito control in these settings is reduction of mosquito borne diseases, primarily, malaria. In the United States, however, the endpoint is mosquito control, therefore, significant (or even greater) emphasis is laid on nuisance mosquitoes as much as disease vectors. The authors detail experiences and learnings gathered by the delegation of African vector control professionals that participated in a formal exchange programme initiated by the Pan-African Mosquito Control Association (PAMCA), the University of Notre Dame, and members of the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA), in the United States between the year 2021 and 2022. The authors highlight the key components of mosquito control operations in the United States and compare them to mosquito control programmes in SSA countries endemic for vector-borne diseases, deriving important lessons that could be useful for vector control in SSA

Comparative studies of the microbial composition and diversity of container-dwelling mosquitoes

The growing problem of mosquito resistance to chemical insecticides has reinforced the urgent need to develop alternative vector control strategies that exploits current advances in mosquito biology including mosquito-microbe interactions. The goal of this research was to develop a better understanding of mosquito microbiota and how their composition and diversity is influenced by host species, life stage, larval habitat type, and larval exposure to commonly used pesticides. Analysis of the microbial communities of larval stages of Aedes japonicus and Aedes triseriatus collected from tree hole and waste tire habitats revealed the bacterial richness to be highest in Aedes japonicus, intermediate in Aedes triseriatus, and in water samples from their larval environment. The microbial communities also clustered by mosquito species, habitat type (used tires vs. tree holes) and study sites. Experimental microcosms were also used to evaluate how exposure of mosquito larvae to sublethal concentrations of atrazine, permethrin, and malathion affects the composition and diversity of mosquito gut microbiota. Bacterial community composition differed according to sample type (larval stage vs. adult stage vs. water sample), but not by pesticide treatment. Bacterial OTU richness was highest in larval samples receiving malathion and permethrin treatments, intermediate in the water and larval samples from the atrazine treatment, and lowest in adult samples irrespective of the treatment. Finally, the microbiota associated with egg rafts and midguts of Cx. pipiens L. and Culex restuans were characterized to gain insights into their community composition and diversity. For each mosquito species, bacterial richness was significantly higher in mosquito egg rafts compared to the midguts. The bacterial community composition differed significantly between egg raft and midgut samples for Cx. restuans, but not for Cx. pipiens L. samples. Overall, these studies have shown that mosquitoes harbor variable microbial communities that are also influenced by the host species, life stage, and the larval habitat. These results provide a basis for future studies aiming to leverage the understanding of mosquito host- microbial symbiont relationships for mosquito vector management.U of I OnlyAuthor requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD syste