Using crowdsourcing to identify, characterize and target swarms of Anopheles funestus mosquitoes in rural Tanzania

Malaria is transmitted by many Anopheles mosquito species but their contributions to transmission vary depending on the environment. In rural south-eastern Tanzania, one vector species (Anopheles funestus) now carries nine in every ten new malaria cases. Unfortunately, this particular species is very minimally understood, partly because it is very difficult to rare inside laboratories, and because its natural populations and behaviors can be cryptic. For example, no one had previously observed these mosquitoes mating in the wild in Tanzania until 2018 when, with the help of local community volunteers, the IHI team discovered An. funestus mating swarms. Since these swarms occur in very specific sites repeatedly, understanding and targeting them with effective insecticides could potentially suppress vector population and possibly malaria transmission.

Vector-based Strategies

Sep 2019 — Sep 2022

$378,921

Tanzania