Autor(es)Liebman, Kelly A.; Stoddard, Steven T.; Reiner, Robert C.; Perkins, TAlex; Astete, Helvio; Sihuincha, Moises; Halsey, Eric S.; Kochel, Tadeusz J.; Morrison, Amy C.; Scott, Thomas W.

ResumoWe studied the biting habits of Aedes aegypti, the principal vector of dengue virus, to determine why certain people are bitten more often by this day-active mosquito. Over one year in dengue-endemic Iquitos, Peru, we collected blood fed mosquitoes from 19 households. Mosquito blood meals were then matched to household residents using genetic fingerprinting. We found that within a household, larger individuals and those spending more time in the home were bitten more often than other household residents. Importantly, our results show that one's probability of being bitten is dependent on the characteristics of other household residents and visitors. These results indicate that measurable characteristics of individuals do predict who is most exposed to mosquito-borne pathogens, which contributes to our understanding of pathogen transmission processes, informs development of mathematical disease models, and can enhance the design of targeted control programs.

Palavras-ChaveBlood; Fingerprinting; Human diseases; Pest control; Pathogens; Aquatic insects; Disease transmission; Public health; DNA fingerprinting; Mathematical models; Biting; Control programs; Vectors; Blood meals; Dengue virus; Aedes aegypti

ImprentaPlos Neglected Tropical Diseases, v. 8, n. 2, 2014.

DescritoresAedes aegypti - DNA ; Aedes aegypti - Virus ; Aedes aegypti - Transmission ; Aedes aegypti - Dengue ; Aedes aegypti - Public health

Data de Publicação:2014