Last Updated: 01/09/2025
Population genomics of Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii (Diptera: Culicidae) associated with landscapes in the Ribeira Valley Region, São Paulo, Brazil
Objectives
This study aims to:
- test whether Anopheles cruzii populations from regions with different vegetation cover gradients are genetically structured;
- compare the genomic signatures of populations that are exposed to different environmental variables;
- verify if there is infection by Plasmodium in Anopheles cruzii; and
- test if there is an association between vector populations and infection by Plasmodium and/or its species.
Malaria is a major Public Health problem in Brazil, with more than 120,000 cases reported in 2014. The epidemiology of the disease is complex, not only because of its biological cycle, which involves six species of protozoa of the genus Plasmodium, and mosquito vectors of the genus Anopheles, but also because it is intrinsically linked to environmental, political, socio-economic factors and access to health services. In Brazil, we can distinguish three epidemiological profiles of the disease, the first being that of the Amazon region, where more than 90% of cases of malaria occur, the etiological agent with the highest prevalence is Plasmodium vivax and the main vector is Anopheles darlingi; the second profile involves cases imported both from endemic regions such as the Amazon, and brought from other countries in Asia, Africa and South America; the third corresponds to autochthonous cases that occur in the South and Southeast regions, and are directly related to exposure to parasites that circulate in regions of the Atlantic Forest and to the mosquito vector Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii. This profile is characterized by atypical cases of the disease ranging from mild to asymptomatic subclinical infection. Due to the subclinical picture of malaria in these regions, for a long time it was believed that these cases were a consequence of infections by Plasmodium vivax or P. malariae. However, at least three recently published studies have shown that there is circulation of Plasmodium falciparum, or at least, there is a similar form of P. falciparum circulating in the extra-Amazonian region. In some way, this species, or a variant of it, is involved in the epidemiology of malaria in the southeastern region of the Atlantic Forest and the vector is An. cruzi. Knowledge about the population structure of An. cruzii, vector species of plasmodia in the Atlantic Forest, will be able to enrich the knowledge of the dynamics of the transmission of autochthonous malaria in the southeastern region of Brazil.
Basic Science
Epidemiology
Genetics and Genomics
Indigenous Cases & Importation
Measurement of Transmission
Jul 2016 — Jun 2019
Related Resources
