Clinical malaria reduces human attractiveness to mosquitoes
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Date
2007Author
Mukabana, Wolfgang R
Takken, Willem
Killeen, Gerry F
Knols, Bart GJ
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Evolutionary fitness concepts dictate that blood parasites should regulate
their transmission success by enhancing the responsiveness of
arthropod vectors to infectious hosts. We observed that the presence of
trophozoite stages of Plasmodium falciparum in peripheral blood, combined
with clinical malaria symptoms, actually reduced the attractiveness
to Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes of one Kenyan male, relative to
another. Their innate levels of attractiveness were restored within
days, prior to the onset of gametocytaemia. These findings support the
theory that a parasite-modulated change in host attractiveness occurs,
but not at the stage when transmission from the human host to mosquito
vector can be effected.
Citation
Mukabana, W. R., Takken, W., Killeen, G. F., & Knols, B. G. J. (2007). Clinical malaria reduces human attractiveness to mosquitoes. In PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECTION EXPERIMENTAL AND APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY-NETHERLANDS ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY (Vol. 18, p. 125).Publisher
University Of Nairobi