Existing Infection Facilitates Establishment and Density of Malaria Parasites in Their Mosquito Vector.

ABSTRACT: Very little is known about how vector-borne pathogens interact within their vector and how this impacts transmission. Here we show that mosquitoes can accumulate mixed strain malaria infections after feeding on multiple hosts. We found that parasites have a greater chance of establishing and reach higher densities if another strain is already present in a mosquito. Mixed infections contained more parasites but these larger populations did not have a detectable impact on vector survival. Together these results suggest that mosquitoes taking multiple infective bites may disproportionally contribute to malaria transmission. This will increase rates of mixed infections in vertebrate hosts, with implications for the evolution of parasite virulence and the spread of drug-resistant strains. Moreo

SUBMITTER: Pollitt LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4504473 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature