The Ecology of Malaria Vectors

This practical book covers all aspects of the biology of malaria vectors, with notes on the vectors of dengue. It is the first work in this field to concentrate on mosquitoes, rather than covering all disease vectors. Authored by renowned field entomologist Jacques Derek Charlwood, it disseminates his vast experience working on mosquito biology, ecology and the evaluation of new vector control tools across five continents over the past 40 years. Covering all aspects from classification and systematics, population dynamics, vector control, to surveillance and sampling, epidemics, and a selection of case histories, the book also considers genetics and resistance, Aedes biology, and malaria and dengue models. It is designed to fill the gap between very specialized texts and undergraduate books on general disease vectors, and is ideal as a textbook for postgraduate courses in entomology and mosquito vectors of disease.

Table of Contents:
Classification and Systematics. Mosquito Life Histories. The Search for the Host. Estimating Dispersal by Capture-Recapture Experiment. Population Dynamics. Mapping. Vectorial Capacity. Chemical Methods of Vector Control. Alternative Methods of Vector Control. Surveillance and Sampling. Epidemics. The Diseases – Malaria, Filariasis and Dengue. Sampling Techniques. Laboratory Studies. Global Heating – ‘The Future Ain’t What it Used to Be’. Some Case Histories. Some Useful Websites.

About the Author :
Jacques Derek Charlwood is Honorary Fellow of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK; Honorary Fellow of Global Health and Tropical Medicine, IHMT, Lisbon, Portugal, Lecturer College of Health Sciences, Asmara, Eritrea. He has 42 years of working in the field in Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, São Tomé, Cambodia, Mozambique, Ghana, The Gambia and 100+ publications on malaria vectors. Charlwood is known for his work on insecticide-treated bednets and was the entomologist for the first African malaria vaccine trial (in Tanzania). He worked in the epicentre of drug resistance emergence in S.E. Asia (in Cambodia) and was the implementer of the PAMVERC trial (in Tanzania).  

Review :
This book represents not only a future ‘standard’ text for students but that it is crafted from a life of personal experience from the most talented medical entomologist I know. The dedication and insights that Derek Charlwood has contributed over the years have been truly unique... This depth of understanding comes shing through in The Ecology of Malaria Vectors, drawing strongly, as it does, on the authors’ impressive publication portfolio. the gold here is that this book lays the most solid of foundations upon which students of Anopheles biology in the field can build their future research investigations. I would urge those starting or even developing further their careers as malaria vector biologists to read this book before looking at a gene or a database, get to know the target organism before diving deep into its molecular biology, complex mapping, or genetic control approaches. The book takes the reader through more than the title suggests. Two substantial chapters cover vector control and there is a section on laboratory studies that support the fieldwork. The Ecology of Malaria Vectors is not the exhaustive tome in field techniques that one would find in Mike Service’s Mosquito Ecology: Field Sampling Methods. Rather, it should be considered important reading for newcomers, giving them the benefits and insights of a medical entomologist who thinks like a mosquito. If you are a student coming into the world of Anopheles ecology and control, or even lab-based studies such as mating or transmission, this book will give you the important springboard into a better understanding of your subject. Well written with clarity and occasional humor, recognizing the major contributions in the history of the field, this personal training manual and research perspective will serve the field well for years to come. - Peter Billingsley in The Biologist, 2020 This book represents not only a future ‘standard’ text for students but that it is crafted from a life of personal experience from the most talented medical entomologist I know. The dedication and insights that Derek Charlwood has contributed over the years have been truly unique... This depth of understanding comes shing through in The Ecology of Malaria Vectors, drawing strongly, as it does, on the authors’ impressive publication portfolio. the gold here is that this book lays the most solid of foundations upon which students of Anopheles biology in the field can build their future research investigations. I would urge those starting or even developing further their careers as malaria vector biologists to read this book before looking at a gene or a database, get to know the target organism before diving deep into its molecular biology, complex mapping, or genetic control approaches. The book takes the reader through more than the title suggests. Two substantial chapters cover vector control and there is a section on laboratory studies that support the fieldwork. The Ecology of Malaria Vectors is not the exhaustive tome in field techniques that one would find in Mike Service’s Mosquito Ecology: Field Sampling Methods. Rather, it should be considered important reading for newcomers, giving them the benefits and insights of a medical entomologist who thinks like a mosquito. If you are a student coming into the world of Anopheles ecology and control, or even lab-based studies such as mating or transmission, this book will give you the important springboard into a better understanding of your subject. Well written with clarity and occasional humor, recognizing the major contributions in the history of the field, this personal training manual and research perspective will serve the field well for years to come. - Peter Billingsley in The Biologist, 2020