Potential evidence of parasite avoidance in an avian malarial vector

Lalubin, Fabrice; Bize, Pierre; Rooyen, Juan van; Christe, Philippe; Glaizot, Olivier

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.06.004

Cited by 30 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 124 publications

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“…() showed that children infected with the transmissible stages of Plasmodium falciparum (gametocytes) were marginally more attractive to uninfected mosquitoes than uninfected children or children infected with the non‐transmissible (trophozoite) stages of the malaria parasite, but Lalubin et al . () obtained the opposite results on avian malaria: Cx. pipiens mosquitoes were significantly more attracted to uninfected wild great tits than to birds infected with an unidentified Plasmodium parasite.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Lalubin et al . (), on the other hand, did not monitor the change of attractiveness after parasite clearance and thus cannot account for intrinsic between‐host differences in attractiveness. In addition, the increased attractiveness of the uninfected hosts was based on a limited number of uninfected birds (five), which questions the generality of their results (Lalubin et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Malaria infection increases bird attractiveness to uninfected mosquitoes

et al. 2012

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The epidemiology of vector-borne pathogens is largely determined by the host-choice behaviour of their vectors. Here, we investigate whether a Plasmodium infection renders the host more attractive to host-seeking mosquitoes. For this purpose, we work on a novel experimental system: the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium relictum, and its natural vector, the mosquito Culex pipiens. We provide uninfected mosquitoes with a choice between an uninfected bird and a bird undergoing either an acute or a chronic Plasmodium infection. Mosquito choice is assessed by microsatellite typing of the ingested blood. We show that chronically infected birds attract significantly more vectors than either uninfected or acutely infected birds. Our results suggest that malaria parasites manipulate the behaviour of uninfected vectors to increase their transmission. We discuss the underlying mechanisms driving this behavioural manipulation, as well as the broader implications of these effects for the epidemiology of malaria.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Malaria infection increases bird attractiveness to uninfected mosquitoes

et al. 2012

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“…20 Indeed, ubiquitous avian Plasmodium infections may impact WNV transmission by influencing heterogeneity in host-vector interactions, 65,66 the viremia profiles and survival of coinfected hosts, 36 and the vectorial capacity of mosquitoes. 25 Furthermore, Plasmodium species have been shown to influence vector's biting behavior, [66][67][68][69] and this might impact circulation of arboviruses that have similar transmission cycles. Future studies with controlled experimental designs may illuminate whether avian Haemosporida transmission can have indirect implications for public health by modulating the transmission of zoonotic pathogens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overlap in the Seasonal Infection Patterns of Avian Malaria Parasites and West Nile Virus in Vectors and Hosts

Medeiros

Ricklefs

Brawn

et al. 2016

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. Multiple vector-borne pathogens often circulate in the same vector and host communities, and seasonal infection dynamics influence the potential for pathogen interactions. Here, we explore the seasonal infection patterns of avian malaria (Haemosporida) parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) and West Nile virus (WNV) in birds and mosquitoes in suburban Chicago. We show that both pathogens vary seasonally in Culex mosquitoes and avian hosts, but that patterns of covariation are complex. Different putative Plasmodium species varied asynchronously across the season in mosquitoes and birds, suggesting that different forces may govern their transmission. Infections of Culex mosquitoes with Plasmodium parasites were positively associated with WNV infections in pools of individuals aggregated from the same time and site, suggesting that these pathogens respond to common environmental drivers and co-circulate among the same host and vector populations. Future research should focus on these common drivers, and whether these pathogens interact in vectors and hosts.

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“…Their feeding preference, sometimes referred to as ‘host attractiveness’, has been experimentally tested for numerous host species. In humans (Lacroix et al ), rodents (Day et al , Ferguson and Read ), as well as in birds (Freier and Friedman , Lalubin et al , Cornet et al ) these choice experiments demonstrated either attraction to or avoidance of malaria‐infected hosts, or no effect of the parasite. These contradictory results could be due to the choice of methodology (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

Signs of a vector's adaptive choice: on the evasion of infectious hosts and parasite‐induced mortality

Witsenburg

Schneider

Christe

2014

Oikos

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Laboratory and field experiments have demonstrated in many cases that malaria vectors do not feed randomly, but show important preferences either for infected or non‐infected hosts. These preferences are likely in part shaped by the costs imposed by the parasites on both their vertebrate and dipteran hosts. However, the effect of changes in vector behaviour on actual parasite transmission remains a debated issue. We used the natural associations between a malaria‐like parasite Polychromophilus murinus, the bat fly Nycteribia kolenatii and a vertebrate host the Daubenton's bat Myotis daubentonii to test the vector's feeding preference based on the host's infection status using two different approaches: 1) controlled behavioural assays in the laboratory where bat flies could choose between a pair of hosts; 2) natural bat fly abundance data from wild‐caught bats, serving as an approximation of realised feeding preference of the bat flies. Hosts with the fewest infectious stages of the parasite were most attractive to the bat flies that did switch in the behavioural assay. In line with the hypothesis of costs imposed by parasites on their vectors, bat flies carrying parasites had higher mortality. However, in wild populations, bat flies were found feeding more based on the bat's body condition, rather than its infection level. Though the absolute frequency of host switches performed by the bat flies during the assays was low, in the context of potential parasite transmission they were extremely high. The decreased survival of infected bat flies suggests that the preference for less infected hosts is an adaptive trait. Nonetheless, other ecological processes ultimately determine the vector's biting rate and thus transmission. Inherent vector preferences therefore play only a marginal role in parasite transmission in the field. The ecological processes rather than preferences per se need to be identified for successful epidemiological predictions.

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Potential evidence of parasite avoidance in an avian malarial vector

Cited by 30 publications

References 124 publications

Malaria infection increases bird attractiveness to uninfected mosquitoes

Malaria infection increases bird attractiveness to uninfected mosquitoes

Overlap in the Seasonal Infection Patterns of Avian Malaria Parasites and West Nile Virus in Vectors and Hosts

Signs of a vector's adaptive choice: on the evasion of infectious hosts and parasite‐induced mortality

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