Mosquitos and Malaria in Eastern Africa
A renowned mosquito expert, Dr. Edward Walker, has been studying Anopheles gambiae, a species of mosquito that is the principal vector for malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1997-98, Walker collaborated with University of Michigan researchers and Ugandan Ministry of Health officials on studies of epidemic, highland malaria in southwestern Uganda. Currently, Walker has research projects based in the Vector Biology and Control Research Centre, a Kenya Medical Research Institute facility, in Kisumu, Kenya. He obtained a National Institutes of Health (NIH) International Research Collaboration grant to work with the scientists at the institute on population dynamics of Anopheles gambiae and landscape ecology of malaria, beginning in 1999. In 2000, a larger NIH R01 grants was obtained to expand these studies into a 5 year program. In addition, Walker began studies of the efficacy and sustainability of insecticide treated bed nets as a malaria intervention, with NIH U01 support that started in 2003 and extends to 2008. Insecticide treated bed nets are the cornerstone of the Roll Back Malaria initiative, yet exactly how they function behaviorally and toxicologically as interventions against malaria transmission is not known, nor is it known if insecticide resistance will interfere with their sustainability. These topics and related ones form the basis for the research program.
MSU faculty involved: Edward Walker (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics), James Miller (Entomology), Orlando Sarnelle (Fisheries and Wildlife), and Michael Kaufman (Entomology).
Categories: Health, Medicine, and Science, bed nets, malaria, mosquitoes
Countries: Kenya, Uganda
Partners: Vector Biology and Control Research Centre - Kisumu, Kenya
More Information
- Contact - Edward Walker
