Feeding strategies of anthropophilic mosquitoes result in increased risk of pathogen transmission

Vector-borne disease specialists have traditionally assumed that in each egg-laying cycle mosquitoes take a single bloodmeal that is used for egg development and feed on plant sugars for flight and production of energy reserves. Here we review research showing that for two of the most important vect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in parasitology 2012-03, Vol.28 (3), p.114-121
Main Authors: Scott, Thomas W, Takken, Willem
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aedes aegypti
aedes-aegypti diptera
Animals
Anopheles gambiae
anopheles-gambiae diptera
Biological and medical sciences
blood feeding
body-size
Culicidae - parasitology
defensive behavior
dengue
dengue vector
disease transmission
Feeding Behavior - physiology
fitness
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
General aspects
human-blood
Humans
ideal free distribution
Infectious Disease
Infectious diseases
malaria
Medical sciences
mosquito
multiple bloodmeals
Parasitic diseases
Parasitic Diseases - transmission
pathogen transmission
plasmodium-falciparum
puerto-rico
reproduction
sensu-stricto diptera
sugar
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Summary:Vector-borne disease specialists have traditionally assumed that in each egg-laying cycle mosquitoes take a single bloodmeal that is used for egg development and feed on plant sugars for flight and production of energy reserves. Here we review research showing that for two of the most important vectors of human pathogens ( Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti ) imbibing multiple bloodmeals during a gonotrophic cycle while foregoing sugar feeding is a common behaviour, not an exception. By feeding preferentially and frequently on human blood these species increase their fitness and exponentially boost the basic reproduction rate of pathogens they transmit. Although the epidemiological outcome is similar, there are important differences in processes underlying frequent human contact by these species that merit more detailed investigation.
ISSN:1471-4922
1471-5007
DOI:10.1016/j.pt.2012.01.001