The Department is world-leading in applied entomology and insect borne diseases, and has provided a testing service for control products for over 20 years. Its entomological field sites in Tanzania, Benin, The Gambia and Kenya are involved in a variety of vector borne disease control trials. The PAMVERC alliance between LSHTM and African partners work in partnership with WHO and the manufacturing industry on product development and evaluation under laboratory and semi-field conditions and in community trials.
Our work covers an extensive area of research on malaria control including vector control, insecticide-treated nets (ITN), intermittent preventive treatment (IPT), drug treatment regimes, epidemic early warning systems and socio-anthropological issues in malaria control.
Collaboration between chemical industry and Gates Malaria Partnership on vector control research has contributed to the development of a new BMGF programme the 'Innovative Vector Control Consortium" (IVCC) which is a collaboration between British, American and African research institutes to develop new tools for controlling malaria and dengue, and new technologies for supporting vector control programmes. Sites and staff of the GMP programme will merge into IVCC and we shall responsibility for coordinating the field evaluation of new control tools in Africa and elsewhere.
Our work on vector biology and control is largely done by several PIs within the Public Health Entomology Group. We have a long-standing, and strong track record in malaria research in particular, with less advanced research on neglected tropical diseases, including arboviruses. We will continue our work on malaria, but we will also build arboviral research portfolio, from an existing foundation on dengue and Zika. Over the next 5 years we will 1) develop and evaluate new vector control products and interventions (including LLIN and IRS) in large scale community trials across a wider range of regional and environmental situations with particular reference on overcoming the growing problem of insecticide resistance across Africa, 2) further investigate our understanding of vector biology and ecology at the behavioural, olfactory and molecular level, to develop new tools for vector control and surveillance 2) investigate innate immunity and vector competence 3) build capacity to explore resistance mechanisms, 5) expand our work on transmission in malaria and leishmaniasis systems, and explore other important vector-host-pathogen systems including Japanese encephalitis, dengue, Zika and West Nile viruses (this will include investigation of the effect of infection, and underlying mechanisms, on vector biology, behaviour, olfaction and control interventions), 6) expand the development and evaluation of innovate vector control interventions and tools at all stages of development including laboratory, hut and semi-field systems and epidemiological (PAMVERC). Beyond five years we will 1) explore the use of whole genome analysis of pathogens and their vector or human host to better understand vector systems and develop control tools, 2) perform large scale epidemiological trials of novel vector control interventions, particularly interventions targeted at outdoor and day time biters, in urban environments, such as Wolbachia, genetically modifying mosquitoes and semiochemicals 3) develop “Smart” technologies for automated and real-time surveillance of diseases (including diagnostics), vectors and for vector control, 4) strengthen our understanding of vector control in the context of preparedness and response to disease outbreaks, 5) develop integrated malaria vector control with other malaria control interventions to address insecticide and drug resistance, vaccine evaluation, to drive malaria to elimination.