Ifakara Health Institute: Using a community-driven approach to identify and effectively target aquatic habitats of Anopheles funestus mosquitoes, so as to reduce malaria transmission in rural Tanzania

Malaria transmission is decreasing across Africa since 2000, mostly due to scale-up of effective vector control tools, notably insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS), but also effective treatments and better living standards [1, 2]. Historically, Anopheles gambiae dominated transmission in south-eastern Tanzania, but ITNs effectively tackled this vector, leaving Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles funestus [5]. New evidence suggests An. funestus now contributes >80% of malaria parasite transmission in the area, despite being outnumbered by An. arabiensis [4]. This species is also highly resistant to public health pesticides, and is poorly understood due to difficulties in laboratory colonization [6, 7]. Incorporating larval source management as a complimentary intervention could improve impact [8]. but is traditionally considered labor-intensive, expensive and operationally untenable for endemic countries [10]. However, our preliminary surveys have recently demonstrated that though An. funestus breeding habitats are difficult to find, they are often highly distinctive. Once identified, they surprisingly remain fixed and findable, thus being readily amenable to larval source management. I therefore propose to demonstrate that trained community members can identify, characterize and target aquatic habitats of An. funestus with effective larvicide, thereby significantly reducing transmission in selected Tanzanian villages, where this species dominates.

Programme: International Masters Fellowship

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