ArticleMalaria journal2013
The impact of low erythrocyte density in human blood on the fitness and energetic reserves of the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae.
Article in Malaria journal, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Influence of hematocrit variation on Cimex lectularius (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) development and reproduction.Journal of medical entomology · 2026Article
- Energetic shifts reflect survival likelihood in Anopheles gambiae.Communications biology · 2025Article
- A simple, field-applicable method to increase the infectivity of wild isolates of Plasmodium falciparum to mosquito vectors.Malaria journal · 2024Article
- Avian malaria: a new lease of life for an old experimental model to study the evolutionary ecology of Plasmodium.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2015Article
- Colonization of malaria vectors under semi-field conditions as a strategy for maintaining genetic and phenotypic similarity with wild populations.Malaria journal · 2015Article
- Impact of long-lasting, insecticidal nets on anaemia and prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum among children under five years in areas with highly resistant malaria vectors.Malaria journal · 2014Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAnaemia is a common health problem in the developing world. This condition is characterized by a reduction in erythrocyte density, primarily from malnutrition and/or infectious diseases such as malaria. As red blood cells are the primary source of protein for haematophagous mosquitoes, any reduction could impede the ability of mosquito vectors to transmit malaria by influencing their fitness or that of the parasites they transmit. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of differences in the density of red blood cells in human blood on malaria vector (Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto) fitness. The hypotheses tested are that mosquito vector energetic reserves and fitness are negatively influenced by reductions in the red cell density of host human blood meals commensurate with those expected from severe anaemia.
methodsMosquitoes (An. gambiae s.s.) were offered blood meals of different packed cell volume (PCV) of human blood consistent with those arising from severe anaemia (15%) and normal PCV (50%). Associations between mosquito energetic reserves (lipid, glucose and glycogen) and fitness measures (reproduction and survival) and blood meal PCV were investigated.
resultsThe amount of protein that malaria vectors acquired from blood feeding (indexed by haematin excretion) was significantly reduced at low blood PCV. However, mosquitoes feeding on blood of low PCV had the same oviposition rates as those feeding on blood of normal PCV, and showed an increase in egg production of around 15%. The long-term survival of An. gambiae s.s was reduced after feeding on low PCV blood, but PCV had no significant impact on the proportion of mosquitoes surviving through the minimal period required to develop and transmit malaria parasites (estimated as 14 days post-blood feeding). The impact of blood PCV on the energetic reserves of mosquitoes was relatively minor.
conclusionsThese results suggest that feeding on human hosts whose PCV has been depleted due to severe anaemia does not significantly reduce the fitness or transmission potential of malaria vectors, and indicates that mosquitoes may be able exploit resources for reproduction more efficiently from blood of low rather than normal PCV.
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