title: Field site selection: getting it right first time around.
abstract: The selection of suitable field sites for integrated control of Anopheles mosquitoes using the sterile insect technique (SIT) requires consideration of the full gamut of factors facing most proposed control strategies, but four criteria identify an ideal site: 1) a single malaria vector, 2) an unstructured, relatively low density target population, 3) isolation of the target population and 4) actual or potential malaria incidence. Such a site can exist in a diverse range of situations or can be created. Two contrasting SIT field sites are examined here: the desert-flanked Dongola Reach of the Nile River in Northern State, Sudan, where malaria is endemic, and the island of La Reunion, where autochthonous malaria is rare but risk is persistent. The single malaria-transmitting vector at both sites is Anopheles arabiensis. In Sudan, the target area is a narrow 500 km corridor stretching from the rocky terrain at the Fourth Cataract--just above the new Merowe Dam, to the northernmost edge of the species range, close to Egypt. Vector distribution and temporal changes in density depend on the Nile level, ambient temperature and human activities. On La Reunion, the An. arabiensis population is coastal, limited and divided into three areas by altitude and exposure to the trade winds on the east coast. Mosquito vectors for other diseases are an issue at both sites, but of primary importance on La Reunion due to the recent chikungunya epidemic. The similarities and differences between these two sites in terms of suitability are discussed in the context of area-wide integrated vector management incorporating the SIT.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK. c.a.malcolm@qmul.ac.uk
authors.forename: Colin A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Malcolm
authors.forename: Badria
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: El Sayed
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Babiker
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Girod
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fontenille
authors.forename: Bart G J
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Knols
authors.forename: Abdel Hameed
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Nugud
authors.forename: Mark Q
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Benedict
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000254:growth & development*; D017753:Ecosystem; D004534:Egypt; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000379:methods*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012107:Research Design; D017508:Reunion; D013397:Sudan