Larval source management in fish farming ponds in the Brazilian Amazon: impact of biolarvicide application on Anopheles darlingi larval density and local malaria transmission

• Grant number: 19/11420-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: November 01, 2019
• End date: October 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Entomology and Malacology of Parasites and Vectors
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Urbano Ferreira
• Grantee: Pablo Secato Fontoura
• Supervisor: Marcia Caldas de Castro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Harvard University, Cambridge, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/25617-9 - Impact assessment of biolarvicides use in malaria control in a high transmission area in the Brazilian Amazon, BP.PD

Abstract

This is a proposal for a 12-month research internship at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, under the supervision of Dr. Marcia Caldas de Castro. The main aim is obtaining further training in statistical and geospatial methods for data analysis to test whether the periodic application of an environmentally safe biolarvicide (VectoMax FG, 20 kg/ha) in fish farming ponds can reduce average larval density and decrease malaria transmission in a high-endemicity area in the Brazilian Amazon. To this end, we will compare entomological data and malaria prevalence and incidence estimates obtained over two years (12 months before the larviciding intervention and 12 months during the intervention). State-of-the-art statistical and geospatial techniques will be used to examine environmental characteristics that favor mosquito breeding and evaluate the impact of larval source management on local malaria transmission dynamics.