[afro-nets] Pesticide use for Malaria Control in Africa (26)

[Robert Karanja <RKaranja@kemri.org>]

Pesticide use for Malaria Control in Africa (26)
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Philip,

The entomopathogenic fungi can be targeted to both larvae and
adult, but I believe the particular studies that Kija is refer-
ring to pertains to the adult.

A key advantage of fungi as a control agent is that it kills by
coming into contact with the target rather than by ingestion
only. Thus it can easily be used by inoculating the surfaces on
which the mosquito is likely to rest after a successful blood-
meal. Studies have shown that mosquitoes are not very keen on
flying long distances especially when fully engorged, so they
are mostly found resting indoors or close to the site of blood
feeding. The fungal spores are therefore able to penetrate the
mosquito cuticle and to kill the insect through fast acting tox-
ins and its feeding/colonization of the host.

Different strains of fungi have different target specificities,
much like Bti, and so a strain of Beavuria bassiana (Bb), the
fungi in question, that is especially active against Anopheles
would normally have little activity against non target organ-
isms. I believe the safety profile of Bb in terms of toxicity
and the environment may already be available, courtesy of US FDA
regulations.

The primarily concern with entomopathogenic fungi is allergies,
but I think Bb has a pretty good record.

Robert Karanja
Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases (ITROMID)
Nairobi, Kenya
mailto:RKaranja@kemri.org