PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Lochouarn

Publications and source records attributed to L Lochouarn.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

An episode of resistance to permethrin in larvae of Simulium squamosum (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Cameroon, after 3 1/2 years of control.

Because of the biting nuisance from females of Simulium squamosum, a 30 km section of the Sanaga River (Cameroon) was treated since 1987 with permethrin for the control of larval populations. In 1990, resistance to permethrin occurred in a small proportion of the larvae, with a resulting 2-4x increase of the LC95 for dead larvae (moribund larvae considered as live). In 1991, after a 6-month interruption of the treatments, susceptibility to permethrin returned to the initial level, and was similar to the susceptibility of S. squamosum larvae from a non-treated section of the Sanaga. In the context of a small-scale control program, resistance to permethrin can be reversible, and it can be avoided by rotation with other types of insecticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis serovar, israelensis.

Animals↗

[Effect of a sublethal dose of an insect growth regulator on the physiology of onchocercosis vectors].

In most of the large scale vector control programs, the larviciding operations are not fully successful, resulting in a surviving vector population due to the use of sublethal doses. This problem leads the authors to study the effect of such doses upon the future of the residual population in order to know if it represents an epidemiologically dangerous population. One insect growth regulator was selected to study this phenomenon using Onchocerca volvulus as the parasite and Simulium damnosum s.l. as the vector. The experiment was conducted under field conditions by treating a river of a savanna area in north Cameroon where onchocerciasis remains endemic. The sublethal doses yielding 20% in adult blackflies from treated larvae was determined and the effects on physiological and vectorial capacities were assessed. The authors also carried out observations on the peritrophic membrane formation and the passage of microfilariae into the hemocele. The observation of flies fed on Onchocerca after larval treatment showed that this insecticide had a light effect on female longevity but did not induce any modifications in the life cycle of the parasite. An unusual high proportion of infected females, observed by the authors, is probably due to an anomaly in the phenomenon of limitation. However, the histological analysis showed to the evidence that no apparent difference between treated and untreated blackflies was observed although the process of blood meal digestion seemed slightly altered in treated flies.

Animals↗

[Campaign against the vectors of onchocerciasis in the surroundings of a refugee camp located in a savanna zone of Cameroon].

In view of the risks of onchocerciasis facing Chadian refugees who have settled in a camp in a savanna hyperendemic area of northern Cameroon, the authors concluded that a vector control directed against the black fly larvae located on small seasonal tributaries of the main water course of this area should be carried out during the four to five months of the rainy season, i.e., during the whole period of transmission of this disease. The operations were undertaken during two consecutive rainy seasons. The first year consisted in developing ground-based control techniques and evaluating the larvicidal efficacy at the larval level. The second year was, particularly, devoted to the study of the impact of the vector control on the biting rate and on the transmission of onchocerciasis. Every week, three of the tributaries close to the camp were treated with an Emulsifiable Concentrate of temephos. Throughout the rainy season, the larvicide eliminated almost all the pre-adult black fly stages on these water courses. At the point in a high onchocercal endemicity area, it also reduced the biting rate by 60% and the Annual Transmission Potential by 72%, i.e., to values corresponding to the lower meso-endemicity threshold. Since these results were obtained at a very unfavourable point from the standpoint of black fly density and onchocerciasis transmission, the authors consider that vector control carried out under these conditions protects the local populations and the Chadian refugees effectively from black fly bites and a risk of severe onchocerciasis.

Animals↗

Four years' entomological study of the transmission of seasonal malaria in Senegal and the bionomics of Anopheles gambiae and A. arabiensis.

From 1993 to 1996, an entomological survey was conducted in the village of Ndiop, Senegal, as part of a research programme on malaria epidemiology and the mechanisms of protective immunity. Mosquitoes were captured on human bait and by indoor spraying. Species from the Anopheles gambiae complex were identified using the polymerase chain reaction, and Plasmodium falciparum infections were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for circumsporozoite protein. The vector species identified were A. gambiae (33.9%), A. arabiensis (63.2%), A. melas (0.3%) and A. funestus (2.5%). Similar proportions of A. gambiae (74.2%) and A. arabiensis (73.8%) contained human blood; 27.0% of A. gambiae and 28.3% of A. arabiensis had fed on cattle. The sporozoite rates were similar for A. gambiae (3.2%) and A. arabiensis (3.7%). The annual entomological inoculation rates varied greatly depending on the year. There were 63, 17, 37 and 7 infected bites per person per year in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 respectively. Transmission was highly seasonal, from July to October. A. arabiensis was responsible for 66% of malaria transmission, A. gambiae for 31%, and A. funestus for 3%.

Animals↗

Bionomical and cytogenetic heterogeneities of Anopheles funestus in Senegal.

Malaria transmission by Anopheles funestus was investigated from May 1994 to September 1997 in different locations from western to eastern Senegal along the northern border of The Gambia. 10515 A. funestus were captured on human volunteers or by indoor pyrethrum spraying. Circumsporozoite protein rates showed that A. funestus had a high infection rate, 2-7%, in the whole of the study area. Analysis of feeding behaviour showed great variation of anthropophilic rates from western Senegal, where populations were highly anthropophilic, to eastern Senegal, where they were much more zoophilic. In eastern Senegal many females captured in bedrooms had fed outside on horses. Polytene chromosome analysis showed that the general pattern of karyotype distribution is consistent with the hypothesis of 3 chromosomally differentiated populations of A. funestus. In samples from a central part of the study area, analysis showed lack of karyotype intergradation with a deficit of heterokaryotypes, suggesting the presence of 2 genetically differentiated populations in an area of sympatric.

Animals↗

Similar feeding preferences of Anopheles gambiae and A. arabiensis in Senegal.

This study in Senegal compared the feeding preferences of Anopheles gambiae and A. arabiensis while controlling for equal accessibility to hosts located outdoors under bed net traps. All fed A. gambiae complex females were identified with the aid of the polymerase chain reaction and their blood meal sources were identified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A total of 605 anophelines, including 281 A. gambiae and 301 A. arabiensis, were captured, 32.2% in the human-baited traps and 67.8% in bovine-baited traps. 30.3% of A. gambiae fed in the former and 69.7% fed in the latter; the corresponding figures for A. arabiensis were 29.6% and 70.4%. Thus, when the hosts were located outdoors and made equally available, the feeding preferences of A. gambiae and A. arabiensis were similar (P = 0.81). These results suggest that biases existed in previous studies, most of which suggested that A. arabiensis was more zoophilic than A. gambiae. Alternatively, the feeding behaviour of these 2 species may differ in various parts of Africa.

Animals↗

[Anopheline population genetics].

Population genetic studies of vectors are essential for (i) the determination of their taxonomic status and consequently the definition of their vectorial role in the transmission of pathogenic agents; (ii) the evaluation of the species genetic variability and the estimation of their capacities of adaptation to selection pressure; (iii) an estimation of gene flow among populations in order to evaluate their degree of isolation and gene circulation, especially resistance genes. Among the malaria vectors taken as examples on three continents, Africa, South-East Asia and Latin America, the large majority of the species showed an important polymorphism. The Gambiae Complex, which is by far the most studied one, includes at present 7 species with the recent description of An. quadriannulatus A and B from Ethiopia. An. gambiae s.s. includes itself 5 chromosomal forms. One of them, the Mopti form, should be considered as a species unto itself. For An. arabiensis, a strong differentiation has been observed among the populations from Senegal and the Indian Ocean Islands. The kdr mutation, which confers resistance to pyrethroid knockdown effect, has never been found either in the Mopti form, or An. arabiensis, indicating a restricted gene flow between these latter two and An. gambiae s.s. The speciation process of the Gambiae Complex seems to be a recent phenomenon due to environmental selection pressure. Species of the Funestus Group are distinguishable by morphological characters. The genetic study of An. funestus s.s. did not show the presence of a complex, in spite of high polymorphism and population structure. Anophelines from eastern areas present an important biodiversity. The Minimus Complex includes two species, A and C, which are widely distributed in South-East Asia. Species A is strongly endophilic, on the contrary species C is at once more exophilic and zoophilic. The latter species might have been selected by DDT indoor house spraying. After numerous taxonomic investigations, the Dirus Complex includes now 7 species. In Latin America, An. pseudopunctipennis clustered into three geographic populations which are under a speciation process. One covers North America and Guatemala, the other South America and Belize, whilst the last one is restricted to Grenada Island. On the contrary, An. darlingi showed little morphologic and genetic variability throughout the species geographic range suggesting the existence of a single species. The main objective of these studies is to implement a more selective approach of vector control programs in relation to the incriminated species, their bioecology and their role in malaria transmission. The improvement of efficiency and selectivity of vector control is becoming a major goal in order to make the best out of the available tools and control the impact of interventions on the environment.

Africa↗