A novel video-tracking system to quantify the behaviour of nocturnal mosquitoes attacking human hosts in the field.
J R Soc Interface
; 13(117)2016 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27075002
ABSTRACT
Many vectors of malaria and other infections spend most of their adult life within human homes, the environment where they bloodfeed and rest, and where control has been most successful. Yet, knowledge of peri-domestic mosquito behaviour is limited, particularly how mosquitoes find and attack human hosts or how insecticides impact on behaviour. This is partly because technology for tracking mosquitoes in their natural habitats, traditional dwellings in disease-endemic countries, has never been available. We describe a sensing device that enables observation and recording of nocturnal mosquitoes attacking humans with or without a bed net, in the laboratory and in rural Africa. The device addresses requirements for sub-millimetre resolution over a 2.0 × 1.2 × 2.0 m volume while using minimum irradiance. Data processing strategies to extract individual mosquito trajectories and algorithms to describe behaviour during host/net interactions are introduced. Results from UK laboratory and Tanzanian field tests showed that Culex quinquefasciatus activity was higher and focused on the bed net roof when a human host was present, in colonized and wild populations. Both C. quinquefasciatus and Anopheles gambiae exhibited similar behavioural modes, with average flight velocities varying by less than 10%. The system offers considerable potential for investigations in vector biology and many other fields.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Gravação em Vídeo
/
Culex
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Comportamento Alimentar
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Anopheles
Limite:
Animals
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Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
/
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J R Soc Interface
Ano de publicação:
2016
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido