Anopheles stephensi

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Anopheles stephensi
Anopheles stephensi.jpeg
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Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Culicidae
Genus: Anopheles
Subgenus: Cellia
Species:
A. stephensi
Binomial name
Anopheles stephensi
Liston, 1901

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. [1] 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. [2] 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 is found 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. [3] However, A. s. mysorensis is a detrimental vector in Iran. [4] An intermediate form also exists in rural communities and peri-urban areas, though its vector status is unknown. [4] About 12% of malaria cases in India are due to A. stephensi. [5]

Contents

In November 2015, an American research group demonstrated that an A. stephensi with genetic modifications could be rendered incapable of transmitting malaria, and that 99.5% of the mutant mosquitoes' offspring were also immune. [6]

In April of 2023, a malaria outbreak at Dire Dawa University in Ethiopia affected 1,300 students. The outbreak was a mystery because it occurred in the dry season and in an urban area, both atypical conditions for common cases of malaria in this area of the world. Blood tests confirming malaria's ring-shaped parasite ultimately led researchers to conclude that it was the work of A. stephensi, which thrives in urban areas and dry seasons, and has a resistance to insecticides. [7]

A team of scientists, headed by an entomologist from the University of Oxford, conducted an evaluation of Africa's environments to determine if they provide suitable conditions for the A. stephensi mosquito. Their findings indicate that the ongoing spread of this species could potentially expose an additional 126 million persons to the risk of malaria. [7]

Habitat

In rural areas, the larvae of A. stephensi may exist in many aquatic habitats, such as ponds, streams, swamps, marshes, and other sources of standing water. [8] They may also occupy smaller environments, such as tree holes, leaf axils, and man-made containers. [9] The larvae of A. s. mysorensis exclusively prefer to occupy stone pots and earthenware containers. [4] This species is also able to endure high levels of salinity, and have been found to breed readily in water where the salinity is equal to or even surpassing that of sea water. [10] Furthermore, A. stephensi breeds in a number of different water-bodies in urban areas, but predominantly in artificial containers, walls, overhead tanks, and ground level water tanks. [11]

Most larvae feed on microorganisms and particle matter suspended in water. [9] However, later in development, adult males feed on the nectar of flowers, whereas females take blood meals, which help produce viable eggs. [3]

Hosts

Hosts include Bos taurus , Mus musculus and Pimephales promelas . [12]

Parasites

Anopheles stephensi is a vector of bovine leukemia virus [12] and Plasmodium berghei . [13] Mack and Vandenberg performed a series of experiments 1978-1979 finding that P. berghei derives nutrients from A. stephensi hemolymph during the sporogonic phase. [13] A. stephensi is an important vector for the human malaria species Plasmodium falciparum . [14]

Biochemistry

Mack and Vandenberg characterized A. stephensi's hemolymph composition in the late 1970s. [13]

Distribution

Anopheles stephensi is a subtropical species that predominates in the Indian subcontinent (except Nepal and Sri Lanka) [3] and is also distributed across the Middle East and South Asia region, existing in countries such as: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand. [2] A. stephensi was discovered to be established on the continent of Africa, in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa in 2012 [15] or 2013, [16] in 2016 in Ethiopia, [17] [15] Sri Lanka in 2017, [15] and in 2019 in the Republic of the Sudan/North Sudan. [15]

Seasonal activity

Anopheles stephensi is considered to be endophilic and endophagic, regardless that it may feed outdoors during the summer, when weather is warmer and humans and animals are more likely to sleep outside in the open air. [10] Although indoor feeding habits have shown no variation between seasons, adult females tend to feed more often at night during the summer rather than during the day in winter. [4] A. stephensi shows a greater preference for humans over animals in urban areas, where they can be found year-round. [4]

Insecticide resistance

The introduced African population appears to have arrived with several insecticide resistances. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosquito</span> Family of flies

Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word mosquito is Spanish and Portuguese for little fly. Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, one pair of wings, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and specialized, highly elongated, piercing-sucking mouthparts. All mosquitoes drink nectar from flowers; females of some species have in addition adapted to drink blood. The group diversified during the Cretaceous period. Evolutionary biologists view mosquitoes as micropredators, small animals that parasitise larger ones by drinking their blood without immediately killing them. Medical parasitologists view mosquitoes instead as vectors of disease, carrying protozoan parasites or bacterial or viral pathogens from one host to another.

<i>Anopheles</i> Genus of mosquito

Anopheles is a genus of mosquito first described by the German entomologist 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.

<i>Plasmodium berghei</i> Single celled parasite, rodent malaria

Plasmodium berghei is a single-celled parasite causing rodent malaria. It is in the Plasmodium subgenus Vinckeia.

<i>Anopheles gambiae</i> Species of mosquito

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.

<i>Anopheles culicifacies</i> Species of mosquito

Anopheles culicifacies is a mosquito species complex and one of the primary vectors of malaria on the Indian subcontinent. It consists of five sibling species, provisionally designated as species A, B, C, D, and E. It prefers to rest indoors in cattle sheds, where it feeds on cattle. The control of A. culicifacies has become difficult due to the development of insecticide resistance against all commonly used insecticides, including new-generation insecticides such as synthetic pyrethroids.

<i>Culex restuans</i> Species of fly

Culex restuans is a species of mosquito known to occur in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Bahamas. It is a disease vector for St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile virus. In 2013 West Nile Virus positive specimens were collected in Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosquito-borne disease</span> Diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes

Mosquito-borne diseases or mosquito-borne illnesses are diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. Nearly 700 million people contract mosquito-borne illnesses each year, resulting in more than a million deaths.

<i>Anopheles albimanus</i> Species of mosquito

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.

<i>Anopheles claviger</i> Species of mosquito

Anopheles claviger is a mosquito species found in Palearctic realm covering Europe, North Africa, northern Arabian Peninsula, and northern Asia. It is responsible for transmitting malaria in some of these regions. The mosquito is made up of a species complex consisting of An. claviger sensu stricto and An. petragnani Del Vecchio. An. petragnani is found only in western Mediterranean region, and is reported to bite only animals; hence, it is not involved in human malaria.

<i>Anopheles sinensis</i> Species of mosquito

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorselliaceae</span> Genus of bacteria

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.

Elizabethkingia anophelis is a yellow-pigmented, rod-shaped, gram-negative bacterium in the Flavobacteriaceae family. Elizabethkingia is isolated from the midgut of Anopheles gambiae G3 mosquitoes reared in captivity. The genus Elizabethkingia, named for former US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) microbiologist Elizabeth O. King, also includes E. meningoseptica which causes neonatal sepsis and infections in immunocompromised persons, E. endophytica, and E. miricola.

Anopheles (Cellia) vagus is a species complex of zoophilic mosquito belonging to the genus Anopheles. It is found in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. It is a potential natural vector of malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and Japanese encephalitis virus. It is highly susceptible to insecticide deltamethrin and resistant to DDT.

<i>Anopheles freeborni</i> Species of Mosquito

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.

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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.

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References

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Further reading