« Daytime biting by malaria mosquitoes » par Dr Diego AYALA
Abstract
Daytime biting by mosquitoes exceeds previous estimates and may reduce the effectiveness of malaria control efforts, according to a study. Malaria reduction efforts, such as insecticidal bed nets, have traditionally focused on reducing mosquito bites at night and indoors. In contrast, the daytime biting behavior of malaria-spreading mosquitoes has not been well studied and longtime neglected. Sangbakembi et al.,collected mosquitoes (Anopheles spp.) indoors and outdoors during monthly non-stop 48-hour sessions for a year in Bangui, Central African Republic. The authors modeled biting events using circular statistics to evaluate the full daily patterns of mosquito biting in an urban setting. The results suggest that the majority of biting events did occur indoors between dusk and dawn, despite the use of insecticide treated bed nets. Surprisingly, the authors found that around 20–30% of mosquito bites occurred indoors during the daytime, suggesting that mosquitoes may naturally feeding when people are largely unprotected, escaping from current vector control measures. Screening for the malaria pathogen Plasmodium falciparum showed that nighttime and daytime biting mosquitoes had similar rates of infection. According to the authors, mosquito control tactics need to reconsider targeting locations where people spend time indoors away from home during the day to advance the goal of malaria eradication.
