MALARIA: Getting the mosquito to do the work

Malaria pathogens are transmitted to humans by the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes. The juvenile stages of these mosquitoes develop in a variety of water bodies and are key targets for vector control campaigns involving the application of larvicides. The effective operational implementation of these campaigns is difficult, time consuming, and expensive. New evidence however, suggests that adult mosquitoes can be co-opted into disseminating larvicides in a far more targeted and efficient manner than can be achieved using conventional methods.
A recent field trial with the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti, exploited the obligate behaviours of adultmosquitoes to transfer a potent larvicide between resting and oviposition sites.
An impressiveimpact on the juvenile population was mediated by 1) a highly effective and persistent insecticide, 2)the predictability of sites where adult mosquitoes could be exposed, 3) a limited aquatic habitat and 4) sufficient mosquito density. The use of adult females as larvicide-disseminating vehicles resulted in the very precise targeting of the insecticide; only those aquatic habitats visited by adults were contaminated and, the more popular the site, the greater the number of transfer events.
http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/1/142