Abstract
Background : The question whetherPlasmodium falciparuminfection affects the fitness of mosquito vectorsremains open. A hurdle for resolving this question is the lack of appropriate control, non-infected mosquitoes thatcan be compared to the infected ones. It was shown recently that heatingP. falciparumgametocyte-infected bloodbefore feeding by malaria vectors inhibits the infection. Therefore, the same source of gametocyte-infected bloodcould be divided in two parts, one heated, serving as the control, the other unheated, allowing the comparison ofinfected and uninfected mosquitoes which fed on exactly the same blood otherwise. However, before using thismethod for characterizing the cost of infection to mosquitoes, it is necessary to establish whether feeding onpreviously heated blood affects the survival and fecundity of mosquito females. Methods : Anopheles gambiaeM molecular form females were exposed to heatedversusnon-heated, parasite-freehuman blood to mimic blood meal on non-infectiousversusinfectious gametocyte-containing blood. Life historytraits of mosquito females fed on blood that was heat-treated or not were then compared.Results:The results reveal that heat treatment of the blood did not affect the survival and fecundity of mosquitofemales. Consistently, blood heat treatment did not affect the quantity of blood ingested. Conclusions : The study indicates that heat inactivation of gametocyte-infected blood will only inhibit mosquitoinfection and that this method is suitable for quantifying the fitness cost incurred by mosquitoes upon infection byP. falciparum