Maintaining Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte infectivity during blood collection and transport for mosquito feeding assays in the field.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mosquito feeding assays using venous blood are commonly used for evaluating the transmission potential of malaria infected individuals. To improve the accuracy of these assays, care must be taken to prevent premature activation or inactivation of gametocytes before they are fed to mosquitoes. This can be challenging in the field where infected individuals and insectary facilities are sometimes very far apart. In this study, a simple, reliable, field applicable method is presented for storage and transport of gametocyte infected blood using a thermos flask.

Methods

The optimal storage conditions for maintaining the transmissibility of gametocytes were determined initially using cultured Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes in standard membrane feeding assays (SMFAs).

SUBMITTER: Soumare HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8056727 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature