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Le Infezioni in Medicina Jun 2016Malaria, the most common parasitic disease in the world, is transmitted to the human host by mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. The transmission of malaria requires the... (Review)
Review
Malaria, the most common parasitic disease in the world, is transmitted to the human host by mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. The transmission of malaria requires the interaction between the host, the vector and the parasite.The four species of parasites responsible for human malaria are Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium vivax. Occasionally humans can be infected by several simian species, like Plasmodium knowlesi, recognised as a major cause of human malaria in South-East Asia since 2004. While P. falciparum is responsible for most malaria cases, about 8% of estimated cases globally are caused by P. vivax. The different Plasmodia are not uniformly distributed although there are areas of species overlap. The life cycle of all species of human malaria parasites is characterised by an exogenous sexual phase in which multiplication occurs in several species of Anopheles mosquitoes, and an endogenous asexual phase in the vertebrate host. The time span required for mature oocyst development in the salivary glands is quite variable (7-30 days), characteristic of each species and influenced by ambient temperature. The vector Anopheles includes 465 formally recognised species. Approximately 70 of these species have the capacity to transmit Plasmodium spp. to humans and 41 are considered as dominant vector capable of transmitting malaria. The intensity of transmission is dependent on the vectorial capacity and competence of local mosquitoes. An efficient system for malaria transmission needs strong interaction between humans, the ecosystem and infected vectors. Global warming induced by human activities has increased the risk of vector-borne diseases such as malaria. Recent decades have witnessed changes in the ecosystem and climate without precedent in human history although the emphasis in the role of temperature on the epidemiology of malaria has given way to predisposing conditions such as ecosystem changes, political instability and health policies that have reduced the funds for vector control, combined with the presence of migratory flows from endemic countries.
Topics: Animals; Anopheles; Climate; Climate Change; Disease Reservoirs; Endemic Diseases; Female; Global Health; Hominidae; Humans; Insect Vectors; Life Cycle Stages; Malaria; Plasmodium; Population Dynamics; Primate Diseases; Species Specificity; Urbanization
PubMed: 27367318
DOI: No ID Found -
Microorganisms Jun 2019Malaria is a severe disease caused by parasites of the genus , which is transmitted to humans by a bite of an infected female mosquito of the species . Malaria remains... (Review)
Review
Malaria is a severe disease caused by parasites of the genus , which is transmitted to humans by a bite of an infected female mosquito of the species . Malaria remains the leading cause of mortality around the world, and early diagnosis and fast-acting treatment prevent unwanted outcomes. It is the most common disease in Africa and some countries of Asia, while in the developed world malaria occurs as imported from endemic areas. The sweet sagewort plant was used as early as the second century BC to treat malaria fever in China. Much later, quinine started being used as an antimalaria drug. A global battle against malaria started in 1955, and Croatia declared 1964 to be the year of eradication of malaria. The World Health Organization carries out a malaria control program on a global scale, focusing on local strengthening of primary health care, early diagnosis of the disease, timely treatment, and disease prevention. Globally, the burden of malaria is lower than ten years ago. However, in the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of malaria cases around the world. It is moving towards targets established by the WHO, but that progress has slowed down.
PubMed: 31234443
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7060179 -
Frontiers in Genetics 2020The principles and function of chromatin and nuclear architecture have been extensively studied in model organisms, such as . However, little is known about the role of... (Review)
Review
The principles and function of chromatin and nuclear architecture have been extensively studied in model organisms, such as . However, little is known about the role of these epigenetic processes in transcriptional regulation in other insects including mosquitoes, which are major disease vectors and a worldwide threat for human health. Some of these life-threatening diseases are malaria, which is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus and transmitted by mosquitoes; dengue fever, which is caused by an arbovirus mainly transmitted by ; and West Nile fever, which is caused by an arbovirus transmitted by spp. In this contribution, we review what is known about chromatin-associated mechanisms and the 3D genome structure in various mosquito vectors, including , , and spp. We also discuss the similarities between epigenetic mechanisms in mosquitoes and the model organism , and advocate that the field could benefit from the cross-application of state-of-the-art functional genomic technologies that are well-developed in the fruit fly. Uncovering the mosquito regulatory genome can lead to the discovery of unique regulatory networks associated with the parasitic life-style of these insects. It is also critical to understand the molecular interactions between the vectors and the pathogens that they transmit, which could hold the key to major breakthroughs on the fight against mosquito-borne diseases. Finally, it is clear that epigenetic mechanisms controlling mosquito environmental plasticity and evolvability are also of utmost importance, particularly in the current context of globalization and climate change.
PubMed: 33365050
DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.602949 -
Microbiology Spectrum Nov 2016Malaria is a disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium, transmitted through the bites of female anopheles flies. Plasmodium falciparum causes severe malaria... (Review)
Review
Malaria is a disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium, transmitted through the bites of female anopheles flies. Plasmodium falciparum causes severe malaria with undulating high fever (malaria tropica). Literary evidence of malarial infection dates back to the early Greek period, when Hippocrates described the typical undulating fever highly suggestive of plasmodial infection. Recent immunological and molecular analyses describe the unambiguous identification of malarial infections in several ancient Egyptian mummies and a few isolated cases in Roman and Renaissance Europe. Although the numbers of cases are low, there is evidence that the overall infection rates may have been relatively high and that this infectious disease may have had a significant impact on historical populations.
Topics: Animals; Anopheles; DNA, Ancient; Egypt, Ancient; Europe; Female; History, Ancient; Humans; Malaria; Malaria, Falciparum; Mummies; Paleopathology; Plasmodium; Plasmodium falciparum
PubMed: 27837743
DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.PoH-0006-2015 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2022Malaria remains a vector-borne infectious disease that is still a major public health concern worldwide, especially in tropical regions. Malaria is caused by a protozoan... (Review)
Review
Malaria remains a vector-borne infectious disease that is still a major public health concern worldwide, especially in tropical regions. Malaria is caused by a protozoan parasite of the genus and transmitted through the bite of infected female mosquitoes. The control interventions targeting mosquito vectors have achieved significant success during the last two decades and rely mainly on the use of chemical insecticides through the insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS). Unfortunately, resistance to conventional insecticides currently being used in public health is spreading in the natural mosquito populations, hampering the long-term success of the current vector control strategies. Thus, to achieve the goal of malaria elimination, it appears necessary to improve vector control approaches through the development of novel environment-friendly tools. Mosquito microbiota has by now given rise to the expansion of innovative control tools, such as the use of endosymbionts to target insect vectors, known as "symbiotic control." In this review, we will present the viral, fungal and bacterial diversity of mosquitoes, including the bacteriophages. This review discusses the likely interactions between the vector microbiota and its fitness and resistance to insecticides.
PubMed: 35668761
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.891573 -
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2022Getah virus (GETV) is a zoonotic virus transmitted by mosquitoes, belonging to the family, genus. It was first isolated from mosquitoes in Malaysia in 1955, being... (Review)
Review
Getah virus (GETV) is a zoonotic virus transmitted by mosquitoes, belonging to the family, genus. It was first isolated from mosquitoes in Malaysia in 1955, being widespread in island countries in the South Pacific region. Since the beginning of the 21st century, GETV expanded its range and geographical distribution from low-latitude tropical regions to 60° north latitude, being isolated from 17 different species of mosquitoes belonging to five genera of Culicidae (, , , and ), as well as from midges in Eurasia. Molecular genetic evolution analysis revealed large molecular differences between the mosquitoes currently circulating Eurasia and those in the South Pacific in 1950s. The number of disease outbreaks caused by GETV in animals is increasing alongside the types of animals infected, from horses and pigs to cattle, blue foxes and red pandas. The disease burden is severely underestimated, and the economic cost to livestock production remains unknown. Herein, we review GETV temporal and spatial distribution, molecular genetic evolution, transmission and data on disease outbreaks. This work provides a reference for public health workers engaged in GETV research and zoonotic disease prevention and control.
PubMed: 36015065
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11080945 -
Infection, Genetics and Evolution :... Jun 2022Anopheles is a genus belonging to the Culicidae family, which has great medical importance due to its role as a vector of Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria.... (Review)
Review
Anopheles is a genus belonging to the Culicidae family, which has great medical importance due to its role as a vector of Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria. Great focus has been given to the salivary gland proteins (SGPs) group from Anopheles' functional genomics. This class of proteins is essential to blood-feeding behavior as they have attributes such as vasodilators and anti-clotting properties. Recently, a comprehensive review on Anopheles SGPs was performed; however, the authors did not deeply explore the adaptive molecular evolution of these genes. In this context, this work aimed to perform a more detailed analysis of the adaptive molecular evolution of SGPs in Anopheles, carrying out positive selection and gene family evolution analysis on 824 SGPs. Our results show that most SGPs have positively selected codon sites that can be used as targets in developing new strategies for vector control and that younger SGPs evolve at a faster rate than older SGPs. Notably, we could not find any evidence of an accelerated shift in SGPs' rates of gene gain and loss compared with other proteins, as suggested in previous works.
Topics: Animals; Anopheles; Evolution, Molecular; Insect Proteins; Malaria; Mosquito Vectors; Salivary Proteins and Peptides
PubMed: 35339698
DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105271 -
Revista Da Sociedade Brasileira de... 2022Malaria is a global health problem and is transmitted by the Anopheles species. Due to the epidemiological importance of the genus, studies on biological, phylogenetic,...
BACKGROUND
Malaria is a global health problem and is transmitted by the Anopheles species. Due to the epidemiological importance of the genus, studies on biological, phylogenetic, and evolutionary aspects have contributed to the understanding of adaptation, vector capacity, and resistance to insecticides. The latter may result from different causes such as mutations in the gene that encodes the sodium channel (NaV).
METHODS
In this study, the NaV subunit I scaffold of 17 anopheline species was used to infer phylogenetic relationships of the genus Anopheles using Bayesian inference. The evolutionary phylogenetic tree of the NaV gene was aligned in the AliView program and analyzed utilizing Bayesian inference, using the software MrBayes.
RESULTS
The anophelines were grouped into five well-supported clusters: 1 - Anopheles darlingi and Anopheles albimanus; 2 - Anopheles sinensis and Anopheles atroparvus; 3 - Anopheles dirus; 4 - Anopheles minimus, Anopheles culicifacies, Anopheles funestus, Anopheles maculatus, and Anopheles stephensi; and 5 - Anopheles christyi, Anopheles epiroticus, Anopheles merus, Anopheles melas, Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles coluzzii, and Anopheles arabiensis.
CONCLUSIONS
The topology confirms the phylogenetic relationships proposed in studies based on the genome of some anophelines and reflects the current taxonomy of the genus, which suggests that NaV undergoes selection pressure during the evolution of the species. These data are useful tools for inferring their ability to resist insecticides and also help in better understanding the evolutionary processes of the genus Anopheles.
Topics: Animals; Anopheles; Phylogeny; Insecticides; Bayes Theorem; Mosquito Vectors; Sodium Channels
PubMed: 36287479
DOI: 10.1590/0037-8682-0701-2021 -
Parasites & Vectors Aug 2018Mosquito-borne diseases cause major human diseases in almost every part of the world. In West Africa, and notably in Mali, vector control measures help reduce the impact... (Review)
Review
Mosquito-borne diseases cause major human diseases in almost every part of the world. In West Africa, and notably in Mali, vector control measures help reduce the impact of mosquito-borne diseases, although malaria remains a threat to both morbidity and mortality. The most recent overview article on mosquitoes in Mali was published in 1961, with a total of 88 species. Our present review focuses on mosquitoes of medical importance among which the Anopheles vectors of Plasmodium and filaria, as well as the Culex and Aedes vectors of arboviruses. It aims to provide a concise update of the literature on Culicidae, covering the ecological areas in which the species are found but also the transmitted pathogens and recent innovative tools for vector surveys. This review highlights the recent introduction of invasive mosquito species, including Aedes albopictus and Culex neavei. The comprehensive list of mosquito species currently recorded includes 106 species (28 species of the Anophelinae and 78 species of the Culicinae). There are probable gaps in our knowledge concerning mosquitoes of the subfamily Culicinae and northern half of Mali because most studies have been carried out on the genus Anopheles and have taken place in the southern part of the country. It is hoped that this review may be useful to decision makers responsible for vector control strategies and to researchers for future surveys on mosquitoes, particularly the vectors of emerging arboviruses.
Topics: Animals; Culicidae; Humans; Mali; Mosquito Vectors
PubMed: 30103823
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-018-3045-8 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Nov 2017Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) that recently caused outbreaks in the Americas. Over the past 60 years, this virus has been observed... (Review)
Review
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) that recently caused outbreaks in the Americas. Over the past 60 years, this virus has been observed circulating among African, Asian, and Pacific Island populations, but little attention has been paid by the scientific community until the discovery that large-scale urban ZIKV outbreaks were associated with neurological complications such as microcephaly and several other neurological malformations in fetuses and newborns. This paper is a systematic review intended to list all mosquito species studied for ZIKV infection or for their vector competence. We discuss whether studies on ZIKV vectors have brought enough evidence to formally exclude other mosquitoes than Aedes species (and particularly Aedes aegypti) to be ZIKV vectors. From 1952 to August 15, 2017, ZIKV has been studied in 53 mosquito species, including 6 Anopheles, 26 Aedes, 11 Culex, 2 Lutzia, 3 Coquillettidia, 2 Mansonia, 2 Eretmapodites, and 1 Uranotaenia. Among those, ZIKV was isolated from 16 different Aedes species. The only species other than Aedes genus for which ZIKV was isolated were Anopheles coustani, Anopheles gambiae, Culex perfuscus, and Mansonia uniformis. Vector competence assays were performed on 22 different mosquito species, including 13 Aedes, 7 Culex, and 2 Anopheles species with, as a result, the discovery that A. aegypti and Aedes albopictus were competent for ZIKV, as well as some other Aedes species, and that there was a controversy surrounding Culex quinquefasciatus competence. Although Culex, Anopheles, and most of Aedes species were generally observed to be refractory to ZIKV infection, other potential vectors transmitting ZIKV should be explored.
Topics: Aedes; Americas; Animals; Anopheles; Culex; Disease Outbreaks; Humans; Microcephaly; Mosquito Vectors; Saliva; Zika Virus; Zika Virus Infection
PubMed: 29145400
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005933