Anopheles mosquito surveillance in Madagascar reveals multiple blood feeding behavior and Plasmodium infection.

Background: The Madagascar National Strategic Plan for Malaria Control 2018 (NSP) outlines malaria control pre-elimination strategies that include detailed goals for mosquito control. Primary surveillance protocols and mosquito control interventions focus on indoor vectors of malaria, while many potential vectors feed and rest outdoors. Here we describe the application of tools that advance our understanding of diversity, host choice, and Plasmodium infection in the Anopheline mosquitoes of the Western Highland Fringe of Madagascar.

A Novel Assay for Simultaneous Assessment of Mammalian Host Blood, Mosquito Species, and spp. in the Medically Important Mosquitoes of Madagascar.

mosquitoes vary in habitat preference, feeding pattern, and susceptibility to various measures of vector control. Consequently, it is important that we identify reservoirs of disease, identify vectors, and characterize feeding patterns to effectively implement targeted control measures. Using 467 anopheline mosquito abdomen squashes captured in Madagascar, we designed a novel ligase detection reaction and fluorescent microsphere assay, dubbed Bloodmeal Detection Assay for Regional Transmission (BLOODART), to query the bloodmeal content, identify five mosquito species, and detect infection.

Multiple causes of an unexpected malaria outbreak in a high-transmission area in Madagascar.

Background: The malaria burden in Madagascar dropped down last decade, largely due to scale-up of control measures. Nevertheless, a significant rise of malaria cases occurred in 2011-2012 in two regions of the rainy South-Eastern Madagascar, where malaria is considered as mesoendemic and the population is supposed to be protected by its acquired immunity against Plasmodium. A multidisciplinary investigation was conducted in order to identify the causes of the outbreak.

Entomological and parasitological impacts of indoor residual spraying with DDT, alphacypermethrin and deltamethrin in the western foothill area of Madagascar.

Background: In Madagascar, indoor residual spraying (IRS) with insecticide was part of the national malaria control programme since the middle of the twentieth century. It was mainly employed in the highlands and the foothill areas, which are prone to malaria epidemics. Prior to a policy change foreseeing a shift from DDT to pyrethroids, a study was carried out to assess the entomological and parasitological impacts of IRS in areas with DDT or pyrethroids and in areas without IRS.

Anthropophilic mosquitoes and malaria transmission in the eastern foothills of the central highlands of Madagascar.

Malaria remains a major public health problem in Madagascar, as it is the first cause of morbidity in health care facilities. Its transmission remains poorly documented. An entomological study was carried out over 1 year (October 2003-September 2004) in Saharevo, a village located at an altitude of 900m on the eastern edge of the Malagasy central highlands.

Geographical and environmental approaches to urban malaria in Antananarivo (Madagascar).

Background: Previous studies, conducted in the urban of Antananarivo, showed low rate of confirmed malaria cases. We used a geographical and environmental approach to investigate the contribution of environmental factors to urban malaria in Antananarivo.

Methods: Remote sensing data were used to locate rice fields, which were considered to be the principal mosquito breeding sites.

Study on the movement of Rattus rattus and evaluation of the plague dispersion in Madagascar.

Plague affects mainly the rural areas in the central highlands of Madagascar. Rattus rattus is the main rodent host of Yersinia pestis in these localities. Since the introduction of plague, endemic foci have continued to expand, and spatiotemporal variability in the distribution of human plague has been observed.

Longitudinal survey of malaria morbidity over 10 years in Saharevo (Madagascar): further lessons for strengthening malaria control.

Background: Madagascar has been known for having bio-geo-ecological diversity which is reflected by a complex malaria epidemiology ranging from hyperendemic to malaria-free areas. Malaria-related attacks and infection are frequently recorded both in children and adults living in areas of low malaria transmission. To integrate this variability in the national malaria control policy, extensive epidemiological studies are required to up-date previous records and adjust strategies.

Outbreak of dengue and Chikungunya fevers, Toamasina, Madagascar, 2006.

An outbreak of dengue-like syndrome occurred in Toamasina from January through March 2006. Dengue type l or chikungunya viruses were detected in 38 of 55 patients sampled. Aedes albopictus was the only potential vector collected.

Determining areas that require indoor insecticide spraying using Multi Criteria Evaluation, a decision-support tool for malaria vector control programmes in the Central Highlands of Madagascar.

Background: The highlands of Madagascar present an unstable transmission pattern of malaria. The population has no immunity, and the central highlands have been the sites of epidemics with particularly high fatality. The most recent epidemic occurred in the 1980s, and caused about 30,000 deaths.