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PubMed2002

The prevention of malaria.

Long before the advent of modern chemoprophylaxis drugs, many practitioners successfully prevented the debilitating and fatal outcomes associated with infection by the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria. Today, with effective insect repellents and several excellent medications available for chemoprophylaxis, there has never been a better array of quality products to prevent mosquito bites and infection and to suppress parasites once in the blood stream; however, there are thousands of imported cases into nonendemic countries and scores of deaths and near-fatal outcomes every year in returning travelers, soldiers, immigrants, and refugees. In this article, the author focuses on practical uses of currently available prevention tools.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Levamisole and immune response phenomena in cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Levamisole has been successfully used therapeutically in twenty-eight cases of chronic cutaneous leishmaniasis. It is suggested that repeated sandfly bites not initiating a clinical lesion may immunize against later infection by the formation of blocking antibodies to Leishmania tropica or by denying the parasite a locus in which it can become established. Late-appearing lesions in natives of endemic areas should raise the suspicion of impaired immunity from systemic disease such as malignancy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Insect repellents: an overview.

The optimal management of arthropod bites is prevention, and many over-the-counter insect repellents are available. Since first marketed in 1956, deet has remained the most effective repellent against mosquitoes, biting fleas, gnats, and chiggers. Permethrin is applied to clothing rather than to skin, and it is a better repellent against ticks than deet. The risk of serious side effects with the use of deet is slight; nevertheless, the lowest effective concentration should be used. The current, popular repellent agents (for adults and children) and their active ingredients are discussed. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for the safe use of insect repellents are supplied.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Effectiveness of a synthetic lure to reduce blowfly strike incidence: preliminary observations.

The effectiveness of a synthetic lure system (Lucitrap) to reduce blowfly strike incidence was assessed in a field trial conducted on two properties located in southern Queensland, Australia. Nine hundred and fifty sheep were randomised to treatment (one or more Lucitrap per 100 sheep) and control paddocks. Sheep were physically inspected for flystrike each month between August 1999 and May 2000. On one property, the risk of flystrike in the control group was 1.86 times (95% confidence interval, 1.19-2.90) greater than that in the treatment group. On the other property, two cases of flystrike were detected in the control group, but no cases were detected in the treatment group. These preliminary observations suggest that the use of Lucitrap can reduce the incidence of blowfly strike by up to about one-half. Blowfly traps have a role in controlling flystrike in circumstances in which sheep are susceptible to flystrike and the likelihood of flystrike occurring is at least moderate. The use of fly traps could assist the Australian wool industry to meet targets of reduced pesticide use.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Triapsin, an unusual activatable serine protease from the saliva of the hematophagous vector of Chagas' disease Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae).

Salivary anticoagulant activities are widely distributed among hematophagous arthropods. Most of them are inhibitors of the serine proteases of the coagulation cascade. Here we show that the saliva of the exclusively hematophagous insect Triatoma infestans, an important vector in the transmission of Chagas' disease, contains an uncommon trypsin-like activity, triapsin. This novel enzyme was purified and characterized. It is a serine protease that is stored as a zymogen in the luminal content of the salivary glands D2. Triapsin is activated by trypsin treatment, or when the saliva is ejected during the insect bite. The enzyme was purified 300-fold from the released saliva by anion exchange chromatography in a HiTrap Q column, followed by chromatography in Phenyl-Superose, and Superdex HR75. The purified triapsin shows an apparent molecular mass of around 40 kDa in non-reduced SDS gels and in sieving chromatography, and 33 kDa in reduced SDS-gels. Its activity is lost after incubation with dithiothreitol indicating that cysteine bridges are essential for activity. Triapsin cleaves gelatin and synthetic substrates showing preference for arginine at P1 residues. The best p-nitroanilide substrate is isoleucyl-prolyl-arginine. It does not cleave bradykinin, angiotensin and other lysine containing substrates. The triapsin amidolytic activity against chromogenic substrates is similar to plasminogen activators, such as urokinase and tissue plasminogen activator. However, it does not activate plasminogen. The fact that triapsin is released at the bite in its active form suggests that it has a role in blood feeding.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Comparison of proteins, IgE, and IgG binding antigens, and skin reactivity in commercial and laboratory-made mosquito extracts.

BACKGROUND: Commercial extracts are available for the diagnosis and treatment of mosquito allergy, but their antigen content has never been analyzed. OBJECTIVE: We wanted to analyze commercially available mosquito extracts and to compare these extracts with different laboratory preparations. METHODS: Seven commercially available mosquito whole body extracts from six companies and four laboratory mosquito preparations including saliva extract were studied. Epicutaneous tests and measurement of protein concentration were performed. Protein components were identified by sodium sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and silver stain. IgE and IgG binding antigens were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting with sera from mosquito-allergic subjects. RESULTS: The seven commercial materials produced wheals and papules ranging from 0 to 36 mm2. Their protein concentrations varied from 0.1 to 4.9 mg/mL. There were significant differences in their protein and antigen components. Some extracts contained multiple highly immunoreactive proteins and IgE- and IgG-binding antigens that are not present in mosquito saliva, but few actual salivary antigens. In the four laboratory preparations, rank ordered from whole body, head and thorax, salivary gland to saliva extracts, the amount of salivary antigens significantly increased, while non-salivary proteins and antigens significantly decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Commercial mosquito extracts should be standardized. Purer mosquito extracts should be used in diagnosis and immunotherapy of mosquito allergy.

Aedes↗
PubMed2003

Experimental transmission of Leishmania tropica to hamsters and mice by the bite of Phlebotomus sergenti.

Phlebotomus sergenti is a natural vector of Leishmania tropica. However, the ability of P. sergenti to transmit L. tropica by bite has not been proven experimentally yet. We have transmitted L. tropica to golden hamsters and BALB/c mice by the bite of P. sergenti. Sand flies and Leishmania both originated from an anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis focus in Urfa, Turkey. P. sergenti females from a laboratory colony were infected by feeding on lesions of needle-inoculated hamsters or mice. Gravid females were allowed to refeed on uninfected hosts 9-15 d after the infective feeding. At the second feeding, some infected females took a full blood meal, while others only a partial one; some females failed to feed at all. The ability of infected females to take a blood meal did not correlate with the parasite transmissibility. In four BALB/c mice, lesions developed after 1-6 months. In two albino hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), lesions developed 1 month after the infective feeding, and Leishmania could be reisolated from these sites. Another hamster did not develop a lesion; however, the feeding site and the adjacent ear were PCR positive 1 year after infective feeding. Our results show that dissemination to other parts of host body occurs in L. tropica after sand fly bite. Experimental transmission of the parasite confirms that P. sergenti is a natural vector of L. tropica.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Why are some people bitten more than others?

Much progress has been made in describing how it is, in a mechanistic sense, that some vertebrate hosts (species or individuals) are bitten more than others, principally because of their odour or appearance. Little attention has been paid to why, in an evolutionary sense, these particular animals are bitten. Irrespective of the proximate mechanisms of host choice, there must be an intense selection pressure on insects to feed on those hosts that are most amenable to being bitten. We should be better able to predict host choice by understanding the evolutionary processes at work.

Animals↗
PubMed1970

The laboratory transmission of Coxsackie A6 virus by mosquitoes.

Coxsackie A 6 virus, strain V 29, originally isolated from Aedes polynesiensis in Fiji, was found to survive in A. australis for 5 days after intrathoracic injection and for 6 days after feeding on viraemic mice, and in Culiseta tonnoiri for 8 days after feeding.The virus level in both fed and injected mosquitoes fell steadily after infection and never exceeded the original level.No virus transmission was obtained in 46 successful second feedings on days 10-14 with A. australis, but three transmissions were obtained with C. tonnoiri, two on day 10 and one on day 13, from 12 successful second feedings.

Aedes↗