Molecular mechanisms of insect immune memory and pathogen transmission
Fabio M. Gomes, Melissa Silva, Alvaro Molina-Cruz, Carolina Barillas‐Mury
Abstract
Insect-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, such as malaria, dengue, Zika, and lymphatic filariasis, remain among the most prevalent infectious diseases worldwide For example, the incidence of dengue infection has increased significantly in recent decades to more than 390 million cases per year, of which 96 million have clinical manifestations At the same time, the remarkable progress in malaria control programs has now staggered, and, in 2021, Plasmodium falciparum malaria incidence increased to more than 600,000 deaths While the deployment of insecticide-based strategies dramatically reduced the toll of insect-borne diseases in several regions, it resulted in widespread insecticide resistance in natural populations Thus, the development of new strategies to reduce disease transmission is greatly needed.