using-fluorescent-dye-rhodamine-b-to-study-mating-competitiveness

Using the Fluorescent Dye, Rhodamine B, to Study Mating Competitiveness in Male <em>Aedes aegypti</em> Mosquitoes

The success of sterile or incompatible insect technique-based population suppression programs depends on the ability of released males to compete for ...

National Environmental Agency

Singapore reported its first locally acquired human Plasmodium knowlesi infection in 2007, involving a soldier who had undergone training in a forested area where long-tailed macaques are frequently seen. Comprehensive disease surveillance and monitoring system that was set up after the initial case detected four additional human P. knowlesi cases in 2007 and one in 2008. All involved military personnel who had undergone training in the forested area, and none had traveled out of Singapore 1 month before the onset of symptoms. Screening for malaria parasites on blood obtained from long-tailed macaques revealed that wild monkeys (n=3) caught from the forested area were infected with P. knowlesi, whereas peri-domestic monkeys (n=10) caught from a nature reserve park were not infected with any malaria parasites. Phylogenetic analysis of the nonrepeat region of the P. knowlesi csp genes showed that the sequences obtained from the human cases were not distinct from those obtained from wild monkeys. Further, certain genotypes were shared between samples from humans and macaques. Our findings provide evidence that long-tailed macaques are the natural hosts of P. knowlesi in Singapore and the human cases acquired their infection in the same vicinity where these monkeys are found. Further, the risk of acquiring P. knowlesi infection among the general population of Singapore is small as evident from the absence of P. knowlesi in peri-domestic monkeys.

Molecular epidemiological investigation of Plasmodium knowlesi in humans and macaques in Singapore.

We report a case of a Singaporean who acquired Zika virus (ZIKV) during a visit to Cuba. The infection was confirmed using molecular and serological methods. This report highlights potential drawbacks of using IgG serology for diagnosis of flavivirus infections in endemic regions. The low viremia detected during the early phase of this case resulted in low mosquito infectivity rates, suggesting the possibility of ZIKV transmission prior to clinical onset. The report also emphasizes the challenges of public health interventions for Zika fever and the importance of sustaining a low vector population to reduce the risk of arbovirus transmission in vulnerable regions.

Jeslyn Wong

Environmental Health Institute

National Environmental Agency

Using the Fluorescent Dye, Rhodamine B, to Study Mating Competitiveness in Male Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Jeslyn Wong

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National Environmental Agency

Using the Fluorescent Dye, Rhodamine B, to Study Mating Competitiveness in Male Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Environmental Health Institute