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Review
. 2017 Oct 12:45:27.
doi: 10.1186/s41182-017-0065-6. eCollection 2017.

Molecular epidemiology of mosquitoes for the transmission of forest malaria in south-central Vietnam

Yoshimasa Maeno  1
Affiliations
Review

Molecular epidemiology of mosquitoes for the transmission of forest malaria in south-central Vietnam

Yoshimasa Maeno. Trop Med Health. .

Abstract

Human infection caused by non-human primate malarial parasites, such as Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium cynomolgi, occurs naturally in Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam. Members of the Anopheles dirus species complex are known to be important vectors of human malarial parasites in the forested areas of southern and central Vietnam, including those in Khanh Phu commune and Khanh Hoa Province. Recent molecular epidemiological studies in Vietnam have reported cases of co-infection with Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, and P. knowlesi in An. dirus. The commonly found macaques in the forest in the forested areas are suspected to be bitten by the same An. dirus population that bites humans. A recent epidemiological study identified six species of malarial parasites in sporozoite-infected An. dirus using polymerase chain reaction, of which P. vivax was the most common, followed by P. knowlesi, Plasmodium inui, P. cynomolgi, Plasmodium coatneyi, and P. falciparum. Based on a gametocyte analysis, the same allelic gametocyte types were observed in both humans and mosquitoes at similar frequencies. These observations suggest that people who stay overnight in the forests are frequently infected with both human and non-human primate malarial parasites, leading to the emergence of novel zoonotic malaria. Moreover, it is suggested that mosquito vector populations should be controlled and monitored closely.

Keywords: Anopheles dirus; Gametocyte; Plasmodium coatneyi; Plasmodium cynomolgi; Plasmodium falciparum; Plasmodium inui; Plasmodium knowlesi; Plasmodium vivax; Sporozoites; Vietnam.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was certified as permitted standard procedures by the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology in Hanoi, and was reviewed and approved by the ethics committees of Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University (permit number: 10121662-5). All adult volunteers including mosquito collectors provided informed consent and for children, consent was obtained from close relatives.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The biting rhythm of Anopheles dirus (An. dirus) outdoors. The hourly biting rhythm of An. dirus by collection sites (province and country) and reviewed publication [reference]. Presented data in this figure was converted to hourly percentages to allow comparison of data from various sources
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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