Posts Tagged: Anthony Cornel
Targeting the Yellow Fever Mosquito in California
If you've been following the startling spread of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, into California--it's been detected as far north...
The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, has been detected in 17 California counties since 2013. (CDC Photo)
There's a Genetic Component to the Host Choice of This Malaria Mosquito
A mosquito that feeds on both humans and cattle and is the primary vector of malaria in east Africa is making headlines. And well it...
Villagers and cattle along the road near Pimperena in southern Mali. UC Davis researchers have announced that mosquito preference for human-versus-animal biting has a genetic component. (Photo by Yoosook Lee, UC Davis)
Malaria Observation Day at UC Davis on April 25
With all the news media coverage lately on the Zika virus, the more pressing disease of malaria may seem overshadowed. It shouldn't be, nor is it,...
UC Davis medical entomologist Anthony Cornel with a villager in Mali.
UC Davis World Malaria Day will take place Monday, April 25 in the Memorial Union. At the top left is UC Davis medical entomologist Anthony Cornel.
How Far North Will This Mosquito Species Go in California?
It's all over the news...the Aedes aeypti, the daytime-biting mosquito that predominantly feeds on humans. The species has spread to at...
The Aedes aegypti mosquito. (Photo courtesy of CDC)
Scientists enlist male mosquitoes in fight against disease
Mosquitoes are being turned into mosquito-control workers with the help of scientists at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier, reported Barbara Anderson in the Fresno Bee.
Kearney, one of nine UC Agriculture and Natural Resources research and extension facilities across the state, houses a mosquito research lab led by UC Davis entomologist Anthony Cornel. Cornel and his staff are working with the Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District to tacking Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which have plagued a southeast Clovis neighborhood for three years. Aedes aegypti are capable of spreading dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya.
The scientists are trying a novel control approach. They collected mosquito eggs in Clovis and shipped them to a laboratory in Kentucky, where thousands of harmless male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were bred. The insects were then dusted with a pesticide and released to mate with females in the infested area. The pesticide doesn't allow the female to produce viable offspring. When the mosquitoes were released, small cups of water were placed nearby to monitor activity. If the water contained pesticide from the mosquitoes, it would kill mosquitoes back in the lab.
“Two weeks ago, we saw really good activity, a lot of the water we brought back resulted in death,” Cornel said. “Last week's water, we didn't see much death, so we're not sure why.”
But because of the initial success, the scientists are not about to scrap the project.