Résumé
Introduction: The current emergence of arboviral diseases worldwide and the stagnation in malaria control underline the need to develop new tools for monitoring and controlling mosquito vectors. The level of human exposure to Aedes and Anopheles mosquitoes is assessed by entomological methods, which have biases and limitations. While at a local level, the density of vectors determines average exposure to mosquitoes, individuals may not be equally likely to be bitten by Anopheles mosquitoes. Exposure is influenced by individual factors such as attractiveness to mosquitoes and behaviours (including the use of personal protection). The development of new alternative and complementary methods is therefore needed to optimize the assessment of the risk of exposure to the bites of these vectors at individual level. Methods: A complementary approach based on bioinformatics and proteomics was used to identify antigenic peptides specific to the saliva of Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes, and immuno-epidemiological studies were carried out in different epidemiological contexts (urban environment, low-transmission setting, vector control, agroecosystems) in endemic areas in order to validate antibody responses specific to salivary candidates as serological biomarkers of exposure.Results: We identify and validate the IgG antibody response to the N-term 34kDa and the gSG6-P1 salivary peptides as specific biomarkers of exposure to Aedes and Anopheles bites, respectively, in the human population living in endemic areas. In addition, additional studies have shown they represent an efficient tool for assessing the heterogeneity of exposure, evaluating the effectiveness of vector control interventions, and identifying individuals at higher risk of pathogen transmission.Conclusion: Serological biomarkers represent a proxy of the human exposure to mosquito bites and can complement existing epidemiologic tools as they seem to be cost-effective, simple, rapid, and sensitive.