Gaku MASUDA    Department   School of Medicine, School of Medicine    Position   Assistant Professor
Language	English
Title	The Effectiveness of Epidemiological Studies of Mosquito Vectors for the Understanding ofZoonotic Malaria
Conference	16th International Congress of Physiological Anthropology,
Promoters	International Association of Physiological Anthropology
Conference Type	International society and overseas society
Presentation Type	Speech
Lecture Type	Panelist at Symposium/Workshop (Applied)
Publisher and common publisher	@Maeno Yoshimasa, Chinh Vu Duc , Masuda Gaku, Hung Vu Viet, Takagi Hidekazu, Annoura Takeshi , Kawai Satoru , Cullenton Richard
Date	2023/09/07
Country	Malaysia
Venue (city and name of the country)	Sabah
Holding period	2023/09/07～2923/09/08
Society abstract	Borneo Journal of Medical Sciences 17,19 2023
Summary	Natural human infection with non-human primate malaria parasites such as Plasmodium knowlesi, P. cynomolgi, and others, has been on the rise in many Southeast Asian countries, particularly in Malaysia, where it is responsible for most malaria cases. This trend has been attributed to the use of molecular diagnostics, land-use change, deforestation, population growth, urbanization, climate change, international travel, and other factors increasing human-monkey or mosquito contact. Current epidemiologic studies have mainly analyzed humans and reported a variety of results, but few have also analyzed vector mosquitoes and have not been able to identify the site of infection and transmission. Therefore, we examined whether the analysis of non-human primate malaria parasites infecting vector mosquitoes would complement the results obtained in humans and provide new findings. We conducted a molecular epidemiological study of malaria parasite vector mosquitoes in seven provinces in southern Vietnam. The vectors collected in the study area were fifteen species of anopheline mosquitoes. Anopheles dirus was the predominant vector in these vector mosquitoes. Analyzing the malaria parasites infecting the vector mosquitoes revealed human and non-human primate malaria species. The malaria parasite infections were monospecific or mixed infections of two or multiple species. In cases of mixed infections, mixed infections with human and non-human primate malaria species were also observed. The results of a comprehensive analysis of the detected malaria parasites in combination with the malaria parasites detected in human samples and the behavioral patterns of the inhabitants showed that the genetic characteristics of the malaria parasites in the mosquitoes collected in the forest and the infected inhabitants were related. In addition, the behavioral patterns of residents active in the forest were found to be associated with the infectious units in the parasite-carrying mosquitoes. This study suggests that mosquito analysis is essential for understanding zoonotic malaria.