Does artemether–lumefantrine administration affect mosquito olfactory behaviour and fitness?

Abstract

BackgroundArtemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the recommended treatment against uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infections, and ACT is widely used. It has been shown that gametocytes may be present after ACT and transmission to mosquitoes is still possible. Artemether–lumefantrine (AL) is a broadly used artemisinin-based combination medicine. Here, it is tested whether AL influences behaviour and fitness of Anopheles mosquitoes, which are the main vectors of P. falciparum.ResultsDual-choice olfactometer and screenhouse experiments showed that skin odour of healthy human individuals obtained before, during and after AL-administration was equally attractive to Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, apart from a small (but significant) increase in mosquito response to skin odour collected 3 weeks after AL-administration. Anopheles coluzzii females fed on parasite-free blood supplemented with AL or on control-blood had similar survival, time until oviposition and number of eggs produced.ConclusionsBased on the results, AL does not appear to influence malaria transmission through modification of vector mosquito olfactory behaviour or fitness. Extending these studies to Plasmodium-infected individuals and malaria mosquitoes with parasites are needed to further support this conclusion.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12936-019-2646-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Enhanced Attraction of Arthropod Vectors to Infected Vertebrates: A Review of Empirical Evidence

“…A preference for infected hosts in this type of experiments might actually indicate an avoidance of drug-treated hosts. In a recent study, de Boer et al (2019) evaluated the effect of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) on mosquito host-seeking behavior and fitness. Using traps baited with socks worn by AL-treated men (before, during and after treatment) they found more Anopheles coluzzi attracted to the socks worn after treatment, but no difference between before and during treatments.…”