Background: To accelerate efforts towards control and possibly elimination of mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and lymphatic filariasis, optimally located outdoor interventions could be used to complement existing intradomicilliary vector control methods such as house spraying with insecticides and insecticidal bednets. Methods: We describe a new odor-baited station for trapping, contaminating and killing disease-transmitting mosquitoes. This device, named the 'Ifakara Odor-baited Station' (Ifakara OBS), is a 4 m(3) hut-shaped canvas box with seven openings, two of which may be fitted with interception traps to catch exiting mosquitoes. It is baited with synthetic human odors and may be augmented with contaminants including toxic insecticides or biological agents. Results: In field trials where panels of fabric were soaked in 1% pirimiphos-methyl solution and suspended inside the Ifakara OBS, at least 73.6% of Anopheles arabiensis, 78.7% of Culex and 60% of Mansonia mosquitoes sampled while exiting the OBS, died within 24 hours. When used simply as a trap and evaluated against two existing outdoor traps, Ifakara Tent trap and Mosquito Magnet-X (R), the OBS proved more efficacious than the Ifakara Tent trap in catching all mosquito species found (P < 0.001). Compared to the Mosquito Magnet-X (R), it was equally efficacious in catching An. arabiensis (P = 0.969), but was less efficacious against Culex (P < 0.001) or Mansonia species (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The Ifakara OBS is efficacious against disease-carrying mosquitoes including the malaria vector, An. arabiensis and Culicine vectors of filarial worms and arboviruses. It can be used simultaneously as a trap and as a contamination or killing station, meaning most mosquitoes which escape trapping would leave when already contaminated and die shortly afterwards. This technique has potential to complement current vector control methods, by targeting mosquitoes in places other than human dwellings, but its effectiveness in the field will require cheap, long-lasting and easy-to-use mosquito lures.

In recent years, evidence of Rift Valley fever (RVF) transmission during inter-epidemic periods in parts of Africa has increasingly been reported. The inter-epidemic transmissions generally pass undetected where there is no surveillance in the livestock or human populations. We studied the presence of and the determinants for inter-epidemic RVF transmission in an area experiencing annual flooding in southern Tanzania. A cross-sectional sero-survey was conducted in randomly selected cattle, sheep and goats in the Kilombero river valley from May to August 2011, approximately four years after the 2006/07 RVF outbreak in Tanzania. The exposure status to RVF virus (RVFV) was determined using two commercial ELISA kits, detecting IgM and IgG antibodies in serum. Information about determinants was obtained through structured interviews with herd owners. An overall seroprevalence of 11.3% (n = 1680) was recorded; 5.5% in animals born after the 2006/07 RVF outbreak and 22.7% in animals present during the outbreak. There was a linear increase in prevalence in the post-epidemic annual cohorts. Nine inhibition-ELISA positive samples were also positive for RVFV IgM antibodies indicating a recent infection. The spatial distribution of seroprevalence exhibited a few hotspots. The sex difference in seroprevalence in animals born after the previous epidemic was not significant (6.1% vs. 4.6% for females and males respectively, p = 0.158) whereas it was significant in animals present during the outbreak (26.0% vs. 7.8% for females and males respectively, p15 km from the flood plain were more likely to have antibodies than those living <5 km (OR 1.92; 95% CI 1.04–3.56). Species, breed, herd composition, grazing practices and altitude were not associated with seropositivity. These findings indicate post-epidemic transmission of RVFV in the study area. The linear increase in seroprevalence in the post-epidemic annual cohorts implies a constant exposure and presence of active foci transmission preceding the survey. Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an arthropod-borne viral disease that affects people, livestock and wild animals. It occurs mostly in Africa, and epidemics have been reported in the Arabian Peninsula. RVF is transmitted to humans and animals by mosquitoes, but people can also get the infection through direct contact with blood or tissues of infected animals. The disease occurs in epidemic form in a cycle of 5–15 years, but some reports also indicate occurrences of the disease during non-epidemic periods. We report here inter-epidemic period transmission of RVF in livestock population, evidenced by demonstration of RVFV antibodies in animals that were born after the 2006/07 RVF outbreak in Tanzania and demonstration of immunoglobulin M (IgM), a short lived class of antibodies, following infection by RVF virus in 9 samples. We have also identified hotspots of transmission in the study area, with exposure being higher away from the main flood plain. There was a linear increase in percent seropositivity from 1 year olds to age 5 years, implying a possible annual challenge.

Mosquitoes that bite people outdoors can sustain malaria transmission even where effective indoor interventions such as bednets or indoor residual spraying are already widely used. Outdoor tools may therefore complement current indoor measures and improve control. We developed and evaluated a prototype mosquito control device, the ‘Mosquito Landing Box’ (MLB), which is baited with human odours and treated with mosquitocidal agents. The findings are used to explore technical options and challenges relevant to luring and killing outdoor-biting malaria vectors in endemic settings.

Lack of reliable techniques for large-scale monitoring of disease-transmitting mosquitoes is a major public health challenge, especially where advanced geo-information systems are not regularly applicable. We tested an innovative crowd-sourcing approach, which relies simply on knowledge and experiences of residents to rapidly predict areas where disease-transmitting mosquitoes are most abundant. Guided by community-based resource persons, we mapped boundaries and major physical features in three rural Tanzanian villages. We then selected 60 community members, taught them basic map-reading skills, and offered them gridded maps of their own villages (grid size: 200m×200m) so they could identify locations where they believed mosquitoes were most abundant, by ranking the grids from one (highest density) to five (lowest density). The ranks were interpolated in ArcGIS-10 (ESRI-USA) using inverse distance weighting (IDW) method, and re-classified to depict areas people believed had high, medium and low mosquito densities. Finally, we used odor-baited mosquito traps to compare and verify actual outdoor mosquito densities in the same areas. We repeated this process for 12 months, each time with a different group of 60 residents. All entomological surveys depicted similar geographical stratification of mosquito densities in areas classified by community members as having high, medium and low vector abundance. These similarities were observed when all mosquito species were combined, and also when only malaria vectors were considered. Of the 12,412 mosquitoes caught, 60.9% (7,555) were from areas considered by community members as having high mosquito densities, 28% (3,470) from medium density areas, and 11.2% (1,387) from low density areas. This study provides evidence that we can rely on community knowledge and experiences to identify areas where mosquitoes are most abundant or least abundant, even without entomological surveys. This crowd-sourcing method could be further refined and validated to improve community-based planning of mosquito control operations at low-cost.

In East Africa, epidemics of Rift Valley fever (RVF) occur in cycles of 5–15 years following unusually high rainfall. RVF transmission during inter-epidemic periods (IEP) generally passes undetected in absence of surveillance in mammalian hosts and vectors. We studied IEP transmission of RVF and evaluated the demographic, behavioural, occupational and spatial determinants of past RVF infection. Between March and August 2012 we collected blood samples, and administered a risk factor questionnaire among 606 inhabitants of 6 villages in the seasonally inundated Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. ELISA tests were used to detect RVFV IgM and IgG antibodies in serum samples. Risk factors were examined by mixed effects logistic regression. RVF virus IgM antibodies, indicating recent RVFV acquisition, were detected in 16 participants, representing 2.6% overall and in 22.5% of inhibition ELISA positives (n = 71). Four of 16 (25.0%) IgM positives and 11/71 (15.5%) of individuals with inhibition ELISA sero-positivity reported they had had no previous contact with host animals. Sero-positivity on inhibition ELISA was 11.7% (95% CI 9.2–14.5) and risk was elevated with age (odds ratio (OR) 1.03 per year; 95% CI 1.01–1.04), among milkers (OR 2.19; 95% CI 1.23–3.91), and individuals eating raw meat (OR 4.17; 95% CI 1.18–14.66). Households keeping livestock had a higher probability of having members with evidence of past infection (OR = 3.04, 95% CI = 1.42–6.48) than those that do not keep livestock. There is inter-epidemic acquisition of RVFV in Kilombero Valley inhabitants. In the wake of declining malaria incidence, these findings underscore the need for clinicians to consider RVF in the differential diagnosis for febrile illnesses. Several types of direct contact with livestock are important risk factors for past infection with RVFV in this study’s population. However, at least part of RVFV transmission appears to have occurred through bites of infected mosquitoes. Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a disease of animals and people that is caused by the RVF virus. During epidemics, humans get RVF through direct contact with animals or through mosquito bites. In East Africa, epidemics occur every 5–15 years following unusually high rainfall. In between epidemics, the transmission of RVF might occur at low level. In an epidemic-free period, we measured whether people in the Kilombero Valley in Tanzania had evidence of past and recent RVF infection in their blood sample, and studied risk factors. Three per cent of people had been infected recently, and 12% had evidence of past infection, with increased risk with age, among milkers and among people eating raw meat. Some people with past or recent infection reported they had not had contact with animals. Households keeping livestock had more members with evidence of past infection. The findings show that people get infected with RVF in between epidemics, and that various types of contact with livestock are important risk factors. There is also evidence that some people get infected with RVFV by mosquitoes in the epidemic free period. Clinicians in the Kilombero Valley should consider RVF in the differential diagnosis of patients with fever.

Controlled blood-feeding is essential for maintaining laboratory colonies of disease-transmitting mosquitoes and investigating pathogen transmission. We evaluated a low-cost artificial feeding (AF) method, as an alternative to direct human feeding (DHF), commonly used in mosquito laboratories. We applied thinly-stretched pieces of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes cut from locally available seal tape (i.e. plumbers tape, commonly used for sealing pipe threads in gasworks or waterworks). Approximately 4 ml of bovine blood was placed on the bottom surfaces of inverted Styrofoam cups and then the PTFE membranes were thinly stretched over the surfaces. The cups were filled with boiled water to keep the blood warm (~37 °C), and held over netting cages containing 3–4 day-old inseminated adults of female Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae (s.s.) or Anopheles arabiensis. Blood-feeding success, fecundity and survival of mosquitoes maintained by this system were compared against DHF. Aedes aegypti achieved 100% feeding success on both AF and DHF, and also similar fecundity rates (13.1 ± 1.7 and 12.8 ± 1.0 eggs/mosquito respectively; P > 0.05). An. arabiensis had slightly lower feeding success on AF (85.83 ± 16.28%) than DHF (98.83 ± 2.29%) though these were not statistically different (P > 0.05), and also comparable fecundity between AF (8.82 ± 7.02) and DHF (8.02 ± 5.81). Similarly, for An. gambiae (s.s.), we observed a marginal difference in feeding success between AF (86.00 ± 10.86%) and DHF (98.92 ± 2.65%), but similar fecundity by either method. Compared to DHF, mosquitoes fed using AF survived a similar number of days [Hazard Ratios (HR) for Ae. aegypti = 0.99 (0.75–1.34), P > 0.05; An. arabiensis = 0.96 (0.75–1.22), P > 0.05; and An. gambiae (s.s.) = 1.03 (0.79–1.35), P > 0.05]. Mosquitoes fed via this simple AF method had similar feeding success, fecundity and longevity. The method could potentially be used for laboratory colonization of mosquitoes, where DHF is unfeasible. If improved (e.g. minimizing temperature fluctuations), the approach could possibly also support studies where vectors are artificially infected with blood-borne pathogens.