Anopheles mosquitoes are the vectors of Plasmodium, the etiological agent of malaria. In addition, Anopheles funestus and Anopheles gambiae are the main vectors of the O’nyong-nyong virus. However, research on the viruses carried by Anopheles is scarce; thus, the possible transmission of viruses by Anopheles is still unexplored. This systematic review was carried out to identify studies that report viruses in natural populations of Anopheles or virus infection and transmission in laboratory-reared mosquitoes. The databases reviewed were EBSCO-Host, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus and PubMed. After the identification and screening of candidate articles, a total of 203 original studies were included that reported on a variety of viruses detected in Anopheles natural populations. In total, 161 viruses in 54 species from 41 countries worldwide were registered. In laboratory studies, 28 viruses in 15 Anopheles species were evaluated for mosquito viral transmission capacity or viral infection. The viruses reported in Anopheles encompassed 25 viral families and included arboviruses, probable arboviruses and Insect-Specific Viruses (ISVs). Insights after performing this review include the need for (1) a better understanding of Anopheles-viral interactions, (2) characterizing the Anopheles virome—considering the public health importance of the viruses potentially transmitted by Anopheles and the significance of finding viruses with biological control activity—and (3) performing virological surveillance in natural populations of Anopheles, especially in the current context of environmental modifications that may potentiate the expansion of the Anopheles species distribution.

Dengue is an arbovirus transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes and is one of the 15 main public health problems in the world, including Colombia. Where limited financial resources create a problem for management, there is a need for the department to prioritize target areas for public health implementation. This study focuses on a spatio-temporal analysis to determine the targeted area to manage the public health problems related to dengue cases. To this end, three phases at three different scales were carried out. First, for the departmental scale, four risk clusters were identified in Cauca (RR ≥ 1.49) using the Poisson model, and three clusters were identified through Getis-Ord Gi* hotspots analysis; among them, Patía municipality presented significantly high incidence rates in the time window (2014–2018). Second, on the municipality scale, altitude and minimum temperature were observed to be more relevant than precipitation; considering posterior means, no spatial autocorrelation for the Markov Chain Monte Carlo was found (Moran test ˂ 1.0), and convergence was reached for b₁–b₁₀₅ with 20,000 iterations. Finally, on the local scale, a clustered pattern was observed for dengue cases distribution (nearest neighbour index, NNI = 0.202819) and the accumulated number of pupae (G = 0.70007). Two neighbourhoods showed higher concentrations of both epidemiological and entomological hotspots. In conclusion, the municipality of Patía is in an operational scenario of a high transmission of dengue.

Malaria prevention and control programs are mainly oriented to vector control, timely diagnosis and adequate treatment. Malaria transmission is influenced by several factors, including biological and social aspects. Thus, it is relevant to consider community beliefs and practices to ensure sustainable prevention and control strategies. This study aimed to determine knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards malaria in an endemic locality in northwestern Colombia. Preliminary data were collected through a focus group discussion. Subsequently, a KAP survey was administered to the community. KAP scores were associated with both sociodemographic characteristics and with previous malaria infection. Focus group data revealed knowledge gaps and the absence of or having worn-out nets. Survey results showed that participants recognized a mosquito bite as the transmission mode (72.09%), followed by dirty water (44.19%), high fever (86.05%) and headache (79.07%) as the main symptoms. Regarding attitudes, 44.19% of the people would go to the hospital in the case of having symptoms. The most recognized practices for disease prevention were the use of mosquito nets (65.12%) and fans (23.26%). The results showed that some people had misconceptions about the disease transmission mode. The analysis showed significant associations of either female gender and homemaker occupation with a good knowledge [OR = 3.74, (p = 0.04), OR = 3.55, (p = 0.04), respectively] or female with a positive attitude towards malaria control and prevention [OR = 4.80, (p = 0.04)]. These results showed that the identified gaps in KAP require increasing education among the community in addition to applying public health prevention efforts. The data may be useful in designing malaria control strategies that involve community participation.

Mosquitoes harbor diverse microorganisms that can influence host biology. While microbiota research in Anopheles has primarily focused on the metabarcoding approach, knowledge regarding the transcriptionally active microbiota and its functional roles in the host remains limited. This study aimed to characterize the transcriptionally active bacterial and fungal microbiota in field-collected Anopheles darlingi, a primary malaria vector in the Neotropics, and in addition, to explore its functional profile. Mosquitoes were collected in malaria-endemic regions of Colombia. Total RNA was extracted from pooled specimens to prepare cDNA libraries and sequenced by Illumina NovaSeq 6000. Results on microbiota composition showed predominance of bacterial (65 %) over fungal reads (35 %). The most abundant bacterial families included Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Acetobacteraceae and Moraxellaceae; the dominant genera were Halopseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Klebsiella, Escherichia and Asaia. In the fungal microbiota composition predominated Aspergillaceae and Hypoxylaceae, primarily represented by Aspergillus and Hypoxylon. Functional analysis showed transcripts encoding an MFS family transporter - an arabinose efflux permease, an ABC-type branched-chain amino acid transport system, diaminopimelate decarboxylase and O-succinylbenzoic acid-CoA ligase (MenE). These transcripts were associated with functional categories related to carbohydrate transport and metabolism, as well as the transport and biosynthesis of essential amino acids and vitamins. These findings offer valuable insights into the microbiota-mosquito dynamic and establish a foundation for further research into the role of microbiota in mosquito biology.