title: Design and testing of a novel, protective human-baited tent trap for the collection of anthropophilic disease vectors.
abstract: Currently, there exists a deficit of safe, active trapping methods for the collection of host-seeking Anopheles and other disease-causing arthropod vectors. The gold-standard approach for mosquito collection is that of human landing catch (HLC), in which an individual exposes bare skin to possibly infected vectors. Here, we present the development of a new method for mosquito collection, the Infoscitex tent, which uses modern tent materials coupled with a novel trap design. This provides an efficacious, a non-labor-intensive, and a safe method for vector collection. In these initial studies, we found it collected an average of 27.7 Anopheles gambiae s.l. per trap per night in rural villages in southeastern Senegal, and 43.8 Culex group Vper trap per night in the semiurban town of Kedougou, Senegal. In direct comparisons with HLC, the tent was not statistically different for collection of Culex quinquefasciatus in crepuscular sampling, but was significantly less efficacious at trapping the highly motile dusk-biter Aedes aegypti. These studies suggest that the Infoscitex tent is a viable and safe alternative to HLC for Anopheles and Culex sampling in areas of high vector-borne disease infection risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523.  bkrajacich@gmail.com
authors.forename: Benjamin J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Krajacich
authors.affiliation: Force Protection & Sustainment, National Security Solutions, Infoscietx Corporation, 303 Bear Hill Road, Waltham, MA 02451, USA. bkrajacich@gmail.com
authors.forename: Jeremiah R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Slade
authors.affiliation: Force Protection & Sustainment, National Security Solutions, Infoscietx Corporation, 303 Bear Hill Road, Waltham, MA 02451, USA.
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Mulligan
authors.affiliation: Force Protection & Sustainment, National Security Solutions, Infoscietx Corporation, 303 Bear Hill Road, Waltham, MA 02451, USA.
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Labrecque
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523,USA.
authors.forename: Kevin C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Kobylinski
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523,USA.
authors.forename: Meg
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523,USA.
authors.forename: Wojtek S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Kuklinski
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523,USA.
authors.forename: Timothy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523,USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Seaman
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523,USA.
authors.forename: Massamba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sylla
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523,USA.
authors.forename: Brian D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Foy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001179:Arthropod Vectors; D009033:Culicidae; D004772:Entomology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D007300:Insect Control / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods