Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
College of Sciences and Technology, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
Malar J. 2021 Dec 3;20(1):453. doi: 10.1186/s12936-021-03989-4.
As part of malaria prevention and control efforts, the distribution and density of malaria mosquitoes requires continuous monitoring. Resources for long-term surveillance of malaria vectors, however, are often limited. The aim of the research was to evaluate the value of citizen science in providing insight into potential malaria vector hotspots and other malaria relevant information, and to determine predictors of malaria vector abundance in a region where routine mosquito monitoring has not been established to support vector surveillance.
A 1-year citizen science programme for malaria mosquito surveillance was implemented in five villages of the Ruhuha sector in Bugesera district, Rwanda. In total, 112 volunteer citizens were enrolled and reported monthly data on mosquitoes collected in their peridomestic environment using handmade carbon-dioxide baited traps. Additionally, they reported mosquito nuisance experienced as well as the number of confirmed malaria cases in their household.
In total, 3793 female mosquitoes were collected, of which 10.8% were anophelines. For the entire period, 16% of the volunteers reported having at least one confirmed malaria case per month, but this varied by village and month. During the study year 66% of the households reported at least one malaria case. From a sector perspective, a higher mosquito and malaria vector abundance was observed in the two villages in the south of the study area. The findings revealed significant positive correlations among nuisance reported and confirmed malaria cases, and also between total number of Culicidae and confirmed malaria cases, but not between the numbers of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae and malaria cases. At the sector level, of thirteen geographical risk factors considered for inclusion in multiple regression, distance to the river network and elevation played a role in explaining mosquito and malaria mosquito abundance.
The study demonstrates that a citizen science approach can contribute to mosquito monitoring, and can help to identify areas that, in view of limited resources for control, are at higher risk of malaria.
作为疟疾防控工作的一部分，需要对疟蚊的分布和密度进行持续监测。然而，长期监测疟疾媒介的资源往往有限。本研究旨在评估公民科学在提供潜在疟疾媒介热点以及其他疟疾相关信息方面的价值，并确定在尚未建立常规蚊虫监测以支持媒介监测的地区，疟疾媒介丰度的预测因素。
在卢旺达布盖塞拉区鲁胡哈区的五个村庄实施了为期一年的疟疾蚊监测公民科学计划。共有 112 名志愿公民参与，他们每月使用手工制作的二氧化碳诱捕器报告在其家庭环境中收集的蚊子数据。此外，他们还报告了蚊子骚扰的情况以及家庭中确诊的疟疾病例数。
共收集到 3793 只雌性蚊子，其中 10.8%为按蚊。在整个期间，16%的志愿者报告每月至少有一人确诊疟疾，但情况因村庄和月份而异。在研究年度内，66%的家庭报告至少有一人患有疟疾。从地区角度来看，在研究区域南部的两个村庄观察到更高的蚊子和疟疾媒介丰度。研究结果表明，报告的骚扰与确诊疟疾病例之间以及总库蚊科数量与确诊疟疾病例之间存在显著正相关，但疟疾媒介冈比亚按蚊的数量与疟疾病例之间没有相关性。在地区层面，在考虑纳入多元回归的 13 个地理风险因素中，到河网的距离和海拔发挥了作用，解释了蚊子和疟疾蚊子的丰度。
该研究表明，公民科学方法可以有助于蚊子监测，并有助于确定在资源有限的情况下，疟疾风险较高的地区。
