Publications by authors named "Tim Hurst"

The Mel strain of has been successfully introduced into mosquitoes and subsequently shown to reduce transmission of dengue and other pathogens, under both laboratory and field conditions. Here we describe the entomological outcomes of Mel mosquito releases in two small communities in Nha Trang City in central Vietnam. The Mel strain of was backcrossed into local genotype and mosquito releases were undertaken by community members or by staff.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Initial control efforts included larval habitat management and adult mosquito control, which successfully identified a weak population structure that could be targeted for elimination.
  • * A second control program launched in 2016 involved community engagement and advanced surveillance techniques, ultimately reducing the mosquito population significantly below detection levels, highlighting the effectiveness of collaborative public health strategies in managing invasive mosquito species.
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The Mel strain of has been successfully introduced into mosquitoes and subsequently shown in laboratory studies to reduce transmission of a range of viruses including dengue, Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Mayaro viruses that cause human disease. Here we report the entomological and epidemiological outcomes of staged deployment of across nearly all significant dengue transmission risk areas in Australia. The  Mel strain of   was backcrossed into the local   genotype (Cairns and Townsville backgrounds) and mosquitoes were released in the field by staff or via community assisted methods.

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Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) is a highly invasive mosquito whose global distribution has fluctuated dramatically over the last 100 years. In Australia the distribution of Ae.

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We report on the use of the Gravid Aedes Trap (GAT) as a surveillance device for Aedes albopictus (Skuse) relative to the BG-Sentinel (BGS) trap in field studies conducted in Trenton, NJ, and on Hammond Island, Queensland, Australia. A parallel study conducted in Nha Trang, Vietnam, assessed the use of the GAT as an indoor surveillance device as well as the use of canola oil as a noninsecticide killing agent. In Trenton and Hammond Island, the GAT collected fewer male (0.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigated the impact of the wMelPop strain of Wolbachia bacteria on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in various field trials across northern Australia and central Vietnam.
  • Results showed that while wMelPop effectively invaded mosquito populations, the rate of invasion varied, being slower in areas with high mosquito densities and declining quickly after releases stopped.
  • The research underscores the difficulties in using Wolbachia with lower fitness but high virus interference capabilities for sustainable dengue virus control.
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Background: Extended drought conditions in south-east Queensland during the early 2000s have resulted in a culture of water harvesting and legislated water restrictions. Aedes notoscriptus is a container-breeding mosquito vector of Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses.

Methods: From 2008-2009, the larval habitats and seasonal abundance of domestic container-breeding mosquitoes were recorded from three suburbs of Brisbane.

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Aedes notoscriptus (Skuse), a mosquito from the southwest Pacific region including Australia, has been implicated as a vector of arboviruses, but its status as a species is unclear. To investigate the taxonomic situation, we assessed genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships among Ae. notoscriptus from the east coast of Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand.

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