Antibody Response Against Anopheles albimanus (Diptera: Culicidae) Salivary Protein as a Measure of Mosquito Bite Exposure in Haiti

• Published in: Journal of medical entomology Vol. 47; no. 6; pp. 1156 - 1163
• Main Authors: Londono-Renteria, Berlin L, Eisele, Thomas P, Keating, Joseph, James, Mark A, Wesson, Dawn M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.11.2010
• Subjects: Animals; Anopheles - immunology; Anopheles albimanus; antibodies; Antibodies - blood; Haiti - epidemiology; Humans; immune response; immunoglobulin G; immunoglobulin M; Insect Bites and Stings; insect vectors; malaria; Malaria - blood; Malaria - epidemiology; patients; saliva; Salivary Proteins and Peptides - immunology; Time Factors; Haiti
• ISSN: 0022-2585; 1938-2928
• DOI: 10.1603/ME09240

Antibodies against arthropod saliva have shown to be a good marker of bite exposure. Because Anopheles albimanus Wiedemann (Diptera: Culicidae) is the principal malaria vector in Haiti, we evaluated the immune response against salivary gland extract (SGE) of this species in malaria-positive and malaria-negative subjects from this country. The results showed that the level of anti-SGE immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibodies was higher in patients with clinical malaria than those in malaria uninfected people living in the same region. In addition, a significant positive correlation between the level of anti-An. albimanus IgG and IgM antibody levels was observed. These results suggest that antibodies against An. albimanus saliva, especially IgG, are useful markers of mosquito bite exposure in Haiti.