Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates. Human malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, fatigue, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. Symptoms usually begin 10 to 15 days after being bitten by an infected Anopheles mosquito. If not properly treated, people may have recurrences of the disease months later. In those who have recently survived an infection, reinfection usually causes milder symptoms. This partial resistance disappears over months to years if the person has no continuing exposure to malaria.
Anopheles is a genus of mosquito first described by J. W. Meigen in 1818, and are known as nail mosquitoes and marsh mosquitoes. Many such mosquitoes are vectors of the parasite Plasmodium, a genus of protozoans that cause malaria in birds, reptiles, and mammals, including humans. The Anopheles gambiae mosquito is the best-known species of marsh mosquito that transmits the Plasmodium falciparum, which is a malarial parasite deadly to human beings; no other mosquito genus is a vector of human malaria.
A mosquito net is a type of meshed curtain that is circumferentially draped over a bed or a sleeping area, to offer the sleeper barrier protection against bites and stings from mosquitos, flies, and other pest insects, and thus against the diseases they may carry. Examples of such preventable insect-borne diseases include malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, zika virus, Chagas disease and various forms of encephalitis, including the West Nile virus.
The Anopheles gambiae complex consists of at least seven morphologically indistinguishable species of mosquitoes in the genus Anopheles. The complex was recognised in the 1960s and includes the most important vectors of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly of the most dangerous malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. It is one of the most efficient malaria vectors known. The An. gambiae mosquito additionally transmits Wuchereria bancrofti which causes lymphatic filariasis, a symptom of which is elephantiasis.
Anopheles dirus is a vector of malaria in Asian forested zones.
Rajpal Singh Yadav is an Indian scientist in the field of vector ecology and management. He joined the World Health Organization in 2009. He retired in 2023, as a Scientist at the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Geneva, Switzerland. He was a Co-Chair of the WHO Joint Action Group for the implementation of the Global Vector Control Response,. He was also Head of the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) for the evaluation of vector control products. During this period he reviewed research protocols and generated a global evidence base for insecticide use and pesticide management. He was also a Focal person in, the WHO secretariat for the FAO/WHO Joint Programme on Pesticide Management. The work involved collaboration with other UN and international organizations, research institutions, programmes, industry, NGOs, and other stakeholders. He is the recipient of the 2016, Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indian Association of Entomologists. He has published more than 100 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Anopheles albimanus is a species of mosquito in the order Diptera. It is found in coastal Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. It is a generalist species and capable of wide dispersion. A. albimanus is a common malaria vector.
Anopheles stephensi is a primary mosquito vector of malaria in urban India and is included in the same subgenus as Anopheles gambiae, the primary malaria vector in Africa. A. gambiae consists of a complex of morphologically identical species of mosquitoes, along with all other major malaria vectors; however, A. stephensi has not yet been included in any of these complexes. Nevertheless, two races of A. stephensi exist based on differences in egg dimensions and the number of ridges on the eggs; A. s. stephensisensu stricto, the type form, is a competent malaria vector that takes place in urban areas, and A. s. mysorensis, the variety form, exists in rural areas and exhibits considerable zoophilic behaviour, making it a poor malaria vector. However, A. s. mysorensis is a detrimental vector in Iran. An intermediate form also exists in rural communities and peri-urban areas, though its vector status is unknown. About 12% of malaria cases in India are due to A. stephensi.
Attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSBs) are oral insecticides designed to reduce malaria infections by killing the host vector – the mosquito – rather than the parasite itself.
Janet Hemingway is a British infectious diseases specialist. She is the former Director of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and founding Director of Infection Innovation Consortium and Professor of Tropical Medicine at LSTM. She is currently the President of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Anopheles sinensis is a species of mosquito that transmits malaria as well as lymphatic filariasis. It is regarded as the most important vector of these human parasitic diseases in Southeast Asia. It is the primary vector of vivax malaria in many regions. In China it also transmits the filalarial parasite, and arthropod roundworm. In Japan it is also a vector of a roundworm Setaria digitata in sheep and goats.
Thorselliaceae is a family of bacteria belonging to the class Gammaproteobacteria and it was first described in February 2015. It is not assigned to an order. The family consists of four species in two genera. The bacteria are Gram-negative and rod shaped, approximately 1 μm wide and 2 μm long. They are facultative anaerobes and motile. Thorselliaceae bacteria have been found around the world associated with vector mosquitoes, mainly with vectors of malaria.
Anopheles nili is a species of mosquito in the Culicidae family. It comprises the following elements: An. carnevalei, An. nili, An. ovengensis and An. somalicus. The scientific name of this species was first published in 1904 by Theobald. It is the main mosquito species found in the south Cameroon forest zone which bites humans. It is known as a problematic carrier of malaria, although newly discovered, closely related species in the same genus have also been found to interact with A. nili as a disease vector. In that, they both have similar feeding habits on local targets in the Cameroon region.
Anopheles (Cellia) karwari is a species complex of zoophilic mosquito belonging to the genus Anopheles. It is found in India, and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Sumatra, and Java. A. karwari is a member of the Maculatus Group and the second scarcest species reported from Indonesia. Female is blood sucking and involved in transmitting Plasmodium falciparum, thus an important malarial vector. It is considered a secondary vector in the Australian region, but its vectorial status in South-East Asia was unknown.
Maureen Coetzee is a medical entomologist, specialising in African malaria vector mosquitoes for over 40 years. She is currently a Distinguished Professor in the Wits Research Institute for Malaria, School of Pathology at the University of the Witwatersrand. She is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. She is a consultant in the World Health Organization 's Global Malaria Programme. She obtained her Doctorate from the University of the Witwatersrand. A subgenus of the Aedes mosquito, Coetzeemyia, was named after her. Also a genus of bacteria strongly associated with malaria mosquitoes, Coetzeea, was named after her. Professor Coetzee has published over 190 peer-reviewed scholarly articles.
Anopheles freeborni, commonly known as the western malaria mosquito, is a species of mosquito in the family Culicidae. It is typically found in the western United States and Canada. Adults are brown to black, with yellow-brown hairs and gray-brown stripes on the thorax. Their scaly wings have four dark spots, which are less distinct in the male.
Quartan fever is one of the four types of malaria which can be contracted by humans.
Anopheles funestus is a species of mosquito in the Culicidae family. This species was first described in 1900 by Giles. The female is attracted to houses where it seeks out humans in order to feed on their blood, mostly during the night. This mosquito is a major vector of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.
Anopheles arabiensis is a zoophilic species of mosquito and a vector of disease endemic to Africa.
Anopheles sundaicus is a zoophilic mosquito of southeast Asia.
