The project Mosquito Mist Nets for the Surveillance of Disease Vectors in which the group of Elies Molins has been working during this last year is starting to move to field application in Mozambique. Berta Domènech and Krijn Paaijmans from ISGlobal (Barcelona) visited the Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça in June 2016 to explore options for testing in areas with high abundance of mosquito vectors that transmit diseases such as malaria, dengue and zika.

Since May 2015 Elies Molins and Berta Domènech from ICMAB-CSIC, in collaboration with Krijn Paaijmans from ISGlobal (Barcelona) and Andreas Rose from Biogents AG (Regensburg), have been involved in the Mosquito Mist Nets for the Surveillance of Disease Vectors project funded by the Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) of the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.

The overall purpose of the MMN project is to develop a mosquito trap that utilizes novel technologies to collect mosquitoes of medical importance, regardless of species, sex, feeding status, host preference or age. Collecting the population at random will provide the necessary information regarding mosquito population structure and infection status, which are needed to support proof of concept and transition to operational control of new approaches to suppress these insect populations. The novelty of the trap is that we aim to create a net with an electrostatic charge and a sticky surface that is able to trap mosquitoes and preventing them from escaping or falling down, easing their collection for further study.

After almost one year of experiments either at ICMAB-CSIC facilities in Barcelona (to develop and test possible adhesives) and at Biogents in Regensburg (to test the materials developed in behavioral mosquito tests) a sticky coating candidate has been selected.

The next step is to test the new technology in the field to see how effective it is in collecting mosquitoes. Although initial tests will be carried out in Spain and Germany, the ultimate goal is to test the trap in areas where mosquito vectors that transmit diseases such as malaria, dengue and zika are abundant. One of the envisioned testing areas is Manhiça district in southern Mozambique. This is why Berta Domènech and Krijn Paaijmans visited the Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM) in June 2016 to initiate discussions and explore the options.

Mosquito trap monitoring in Magude region. Berta Domènech and CISM worker.


Mosquito trap monitoring in Magude region. ISGlobal and CISM field team.


Mosquito trap monitoring in Magude region. Krijn Paaijmans and CISM field team.


Krijn Paaijmans from ISGlobal with part of CISM field team in charge of the control and monitoring of mosquito population in Magude region.