Development of [ 2004 - 2005 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof Scott Ritchie (Principal investigator) ,  Prof Richard Russell

Brief description Dengue is the leading mosquito-borne virus causing morbidity and mortality in the tropics. North Queens land has a history of dengue outbreaks, with 5 outbreaks in the last 3 years. Queensland Health has developed a Dengue Fever Management Plan for north Queensland that has had considerable success in preventing small outbreaks of dengue from developing into large epidemics. The cornerstone of this plan is the application of residual insecticide inside premises near dengue cases to kill the mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, before it can spread the virus. While this method is effective, it is labor intensive, requires the cooperation of homeowners who may find it intrusive and exposes nontarget insects and animals to insecticide. We propose to develop a lure and kill strategy to improve the efficacy of vector control while minimising the exposure of nontarget animals. Several chemicals have been identified as highly attractive to dengue mosquitoes. Among these are extracts from water infusions of grass that are highly attractive to egg-laying mosquitoes and emanations from human skin that attract host-seeking mosquitoes. We will develop traps incorporating a. mosquito attractants and b. a killing agent to selectively control Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. These will be collectively called lethal traps. This project will employ the following approach towards the development of a lure and kill strtaegy for dengue control a. determine which compounds are most attractive to north Queensland Ae. aegypti in a laboratory wind tunnel; b. confirm the attraction of these compounds using sticky traps in the field; c. conduct field trials of candidate lethal traps to determine the spacing and density of traps needed to control mosquitoes d. conduct a large field trial to examine the efficacy of the optimised lure and kill strategy. We will also conduct ecological studies on aging and the flight range of Ae. aegypti to enhance the development of the strategy.

Funding Amount $AUD 195,300.00

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Standard Project Grant