Non-destructive determination of age and species of anopheles gambiae s.l. using near-infrared spectroscopy

Mayagaya, V.S., Michel, K., Benedict, M.Q., Killeen, G.F., Wirtz, R.A., Ferguson, H.M. and Dowell, F.E. (2009) Non-destructive determination of age and species of anopheles gambiae s.l. using near-infrared spectroscopy. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 81(4), pp. 622-630. (doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2009.09-0192)

Abstract

Determining, malaria vector species and age is crucial to measure malaria risk. Although different in ecology and susceptibility to control, the African malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto and An. arabiensis are morphologically similar and can be differentiated only by molecular techniques. Furthermore, few reliable methods exist to estimate the age of these vectors, which is a key predictor of malaria transmission intensity. We evaluated the use of near-infrared spectroscopy (LAIRS) to determine vector species and age. This non-destructive technique predicted the species of field-collected mosquitoes with approximately 80% accuracy and predicted the species of laboratory-reared insects with almost 100% accuracy. The relative age of young or old females was predicted with approximately 80% accuracy, and young and old insects were predicted with >= 90% accuracy. For applications where rapid assessment of the age structure and species composition of wild vector populations is needed, LAIRS offers a valuable alternative to traditional methods

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ferguson, Professor Heather
• Authors: Mayagaya, V.S., Michel, K., Benedict, M.Q., Killeen, G.F., Wirtz, R.A., Ferguson, H.M., and Dowell, F.E.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• ISSN: 0002-9637