Nature
Volume 574, Issue 7778, 2019, Pages 404-408

Windborne long-distance migration of malaria mosquitoes in the Sahel (Letter)

Huestis D.L. , Dao A. , Diallo M. , Sanogo Z.L. , Samake D. , Yaro A.S. , Ousman Y. , Linton Y.-M. , Krishna A. , Veru L. , Krajacich B.J. , Faiman R. , Florio J. , Chapman J.W. , Reynolds D.R. , Weetman D. , Mitchell R. , Donnelly M.J. , Talamas E. , Chamorro L. , Strobach E. , Lehmann T.*
  • a Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD, United States
  • b Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC), Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-stomatology, University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
  • c Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC), Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-stomatology, University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
  • d Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC), Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-stomatology, University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
  • e Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC), Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-stomatology, University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
  • f Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC), Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-stomatology, University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali, Faculte des Sciences et Techniques, Universite des Sciences des Techniques et des Technologies de Bamako (FSTUSTTB), Bamako, Mali
  • g Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC), Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-stomatology, University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
  • h Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center, Suitland, MD, United States, Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States
  • i Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD, United States
  • j Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD, United States
  • k Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD, United States
  • l Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD, United States
  • m Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD, United States
  • n Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, United Kingdom, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China, Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, United Kingdom
  • o Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham, United Kingdom, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, United Kingdom
  • p Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
  • q Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center, Suitland, MD, United States
  • r Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
  • s Systematic Entomology Laboratory - ARS, USDA, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Department of Plant Industry, Gainesville, FL, United States
  • t Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States, Systematic Entomology Laboratory - ARS, USDA, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States
  • u Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States, Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, United States
  • v Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD, United States

Abstract

Over the past two decades efforts to control malaria have halved the number of cases globally, yet burdens remain high in much of Africa and the elimination of malaria has not been achieved even in areas where extreme reductions have been sustained, such as South Africa1,2. Studies seeking to understand the paradoxical persistence of malaria in areas in which surface water is absent for 3–8 months of the year have suggested that some species of Anopheles mosquito use long-distance migration3. Here we confirm this hypothesis through aerial sampling of mosquitoes at 40–290 m above ground level and provide—to our knowledge—the first evidence of windborne migration of African malaria vectors, and consequently of the pathogens that they transmit. Ten species, including the primary malaria vector Anopheles coluzzii, were identified among 235 anopheline mosquitoes that were captured during 617 nocturnal aerial collections in the Sahel of Mali. Notably, females accounted for more than 80% of all of the mosquitoes that we collected. Of these, 90% had taken a blood meal before their migration, which implies that pathogens are probably transported over long distances by migrating females. The likelihood of capturing Anopheles species increased with altitude (the height of the sampling panel above ground level) and during the wet seasons, but variation between years and localities was minimal. Simulated trajectories of mosquito flights indicated that there would be mean nightly displacements of up to 300 km for 9-h flight durations. Annually, the estimated numbers of mosquitoes at altitude that cross a 100-km line perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction included 81,000 Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, 6 million A. coluzzii and 44 million Anopheles squamosus. These results provide compelling evidence that millions of malaria vectors that have previously fed on blood frequently migrate over hundreds of kilometres, and thus almost certainly spread malaria over these distances. The successful elimination of malaria may therefore depend on whether the sources of migrant vectors can be identified and controlled. © 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

male controlled study Anopheles female Anopheles squamosus wind speed wind Altitude population abundance priority journal Anopheles (genus) nonhuman Anopheles gambiae Sahel Anopheles coluzzii seasonal variation Letter migration
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85073518894&doi=10.1038%2fs41586-019-1622-4&partnerID=40&md5=b026852bb039570235797076c12dc1ec
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1622-4
ISSN: 00280836
Cited by: 3
Original Language: English