Publications by authors named "M Hermy"

Land use change threatens global biodiversity and compromises ecosystem functions, including pollination and food production. Reduced taxonomic α-diversity is often reported under land use change, yet the impacts could be different at larger spatial scales (i.e.

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Article Synopsis
  • A Belgian study on tick-borne diseases repeated its 2017 research in 2021, focusing on the risk posed by pathogenic microorganisms in ticks that bite humans.
  • Citizens collected and sent in ticks for analysis, identifying various species and testing for several pathogens using advanced qPCR methods.
  • Results showed a decrease in the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi but increased rates of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia helvetica compared to 2017, with no detection of tick-borne encephalitis virus in either year.
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Background: Malaria vectors vary in feeding preference depending on their innate behaviour, host availability and abundance. Host preference and human biting rate in malaria vectors are key factors in establishing zooprophylaxis and zoopotentiation. This study aimed at assessing the impact of non-human hosts in close proximity to humans on the human biting rate of primary and secondary malaria vectors, with varying host preferences.

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Background: Existing control tools have significantly reduced malaria over the past two decades. However, progress has been stalled due to increased resistance in primary vectors and the increasing role of secondary vectors. This study aimed to investigate the impact of seasonal change on primary and secondary vector abundance and host preference.

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Background: Wild populations of Anopheles mosquitoes are generally thought to mate outdoors in swarms, although once colonized, they also mate readily inside laboratory cages. This study investigated whether the malaria vectors Anopheles funestus and Anopheles arabiensis can also naturally mate inside human dwellings.

Method: Mosquitoes were sampled from three volunteer-occupied experimental huts in a rural Tanzanian village at 6:00 p.

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