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Biting behaviour of African malaria vectors: 1. where do the main vector species bite on the human body?

Overview of attention for article published in Parasites & Vectors, February 2015
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (80th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (83rd percentile)

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8 X users
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2 Facebook pages

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178 Mendeley
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Title
Biting behaviour of African malaria vectors: 1. where do the main vector species bite on the human body?
Published in
Parasites & Vectors, February 2015
DOI 10.1186/s13071-015-0677-9
Pubmed ID
Authors

Leo Braack, Richard Hunt, Lizette L Koekemoer, Anton Gericke, Givemore Munhenga, Andrew D Haddow, Piet Becker, Michael Okia, Isaac Kimera, Maureen Coetzee

Abstract

BackgroundMalaria control in Africa relies heavily on indoor vector management, primarily indoor residual spraying and insecticide treated bed nets. Little is known about outdoor biting behaviour or even the dynamics of indoor biting and infection risk of sleeping household occupants. In this paper we explore the preferred biting sites on the human body and some of the ramifications regarding infection risk and exposure management.MethodsWe undertook whole-night human landing catches of Anopheles arabiensis in South Africa and Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Anopheles funestus in Uganda, for seated persons wearing short sleeve shirts, short pants, and bare legs, ankles and feet. Catches were kept separate for different body regions and capture sessions. All An. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus group individuals were identified to species level by PCR.ResultsThree of the main vectors of malaria in Africa (An. arabiensis, An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus) all have a preference for feeding close to ground level, which is manifested as a strong propensity (77.3% ¿ 100%) for biting on lower leg, ankles and feet of people seated either indoors or outdoors, but somewhat randomly along the lower edge of the body in contact with the surface when lying down. If the lower extremities of the legs (below mid-calf level) of seated people are protected and therefore exclude access to this body region, vector mosquitoes do not move higher up the body to feed at alternate body sites, instead resulting in a high (58.5% - 68.8%) reduction in biting intensity by these three species.ConclusionsProtecting the lower limbs of people outdoors at night can achieve a major reduction in biting intensity by malaria vector mosquitoes. Persons sleeping at floor level bear a disproportionate risk of being bitten at night because this is the preferred height for feeding by the primary vector species. Therefore it is critical to protect children sleeping at floor level (bednets; repellent-impregnated blankets or sheets, etc.). Additionally, the opportunity exists for the development of inexpensive repellent-impregnated anklets and/or sandals to discourage vectors feeding on the lower legs under outdoor conditions at night.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 8 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 178 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Portugal 1 <1%
Unknown 177 99%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 32 18%
Researcher 30 17%
Student > Ph. D. Student 27 15%
Student > Bachelor 15 8%
Student > Postgraduate 13 7%
Other 27 15%
Unknown 34 19%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 52 29%
Medicine and Dentistry 22 12%
Environmental Science 14 8%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 11 6%
Nursing and Health Professions 10 6%
Other 32 18%
Unknown 37 21%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 7. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 03 August 2018.
All research outputs
#5,404,723
of 25,371,288 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#1,201
of 5,986 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#71,830
of 360,582 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#23
of 147 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,371,288 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 78th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,986 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.2. This one has done well, scoring higher than 79% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 360,582 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 80% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 147 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 83% of its contemporaries.