I am heading the Entomology Platform at the Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM), where I coordinate entomological surveillance and evaluate tools and strategies to interrupt the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Our Entomology Unit monitors 1) mosquito populations (mosquito diversity, densities, sporozoite rates, insecticide susceptibility status, etc.) to answer programmatic questions such as “Could indoor residual spraying be effective in currently untargeted areas in southern Mozambique?” and 2) the efficacy of implemented vector control tools (integrity and efficacy of bed nets, residual efficacy of IRS products) to answer programmatic questions such as “Are the insecticides being used for IRS effective to cover the whole transmission season?”. We work in the three southern provinces of Mozambique (Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane).
Finally, we organize short courses on mosquito ecology, behavior and control. We work closely with the Mozambican National Malaria Control Program and its partners.
A selection of relevant papers:
- An evaluation of LLIN ownership, access, and use during the Magude project in southern Mozambique. PLoS ONE 2023
- The realized efficacy of indoor residual spraying campaigns falls quickly below the recommended WHO threshold when coverage, pace of spraying and residual efficacy on different wall types are considered. PLoS ONE 2022
- The mosquito vectors that sustained malaria transmission during the Magude project despite the combined deployment of indoor residual spraying, insecticide-treated nets and mass-drug administration. PLoS ONE 2022
- Overlaying human and mosquito behavioral data to estimate residual exposure to host-seeking mosquitoes and the protection of bednets in a malaria elimination setting where indoor residual spraying and nets were deployed together. PLoS ONE 2022
- To spray or target mosquitoes another way: focused entomological intelligence guides the implementation of indoor residual spraying in southern Mozambique. Malaria Journal 2022
- Household modifications after the indoor residual spraying (IRS) campaign in Mozambique reduce the actual spray coverage and efficacy. PLoS Global Public Health 2022
- Effect of wall type, delayed mortality and mosquito age on the residual efficacy of a clothianidin-based indoor residual spray formulation (SumiShield™ 50WG) in southern Mozambique. PLoS ONE 2021
- Moving towards malaria elimination in southern Mozambique: cost and cost-effectiveness of mass drug administration combined with intensified malaria control. PLoS ONE 2021
- Setting the scene for malaria elimination in Southern Mozambique. Malaria Journal 2019
- A multiphase program for malaria elimination in southern Mozambique (the Magude project): A before-after study. PLoS Medicine 2020
- Escalation of pyrethroid resistance in the malaria vector Anopheles funestus induces a loss of efficacy of PBO-based insecticide-treated nets in Mozambique. Journal of Infectious Diseases 2019
- Long-lasting insecticidal nets no longer effectively kill the highly resistant Anopheles funestus of southern Mozambique. Malaria Journal 2015