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<p><i>Microsporidia MB</i> (<i>MB</i>) is a promising malaria control agent whose biological interactions with <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> and ecological distribution remain poorly understood in Nigeria, the highest malaria-burden country globally in need of innovative malaria control tools. We assessed field and potential distributions of <i>MB</i> in Edo and Delta—areas in southern Nigeria experiencing perennial malaria transmission. Wild-caught <i>Anopheles</i> mosquitoes were molecularly screened for <i>MB</i> and <i>P. falciparum</i>, with an objective to provide insights into whether <i>MB</i> limits the capacity of field mosquitoes to transmit <i>P. falciparum</i>. Despite malaria hyper-endemicity in the study area and the choice of an ultrasensitive assay for parasite detection, <i>MB</i>-positive <i>An. coluzzii</i> and <i>An. gambiae</i> sensu stricto—including mosquitoes with <i>P. falciparum</i> in the midguts—were negative for <i>P. falciparum</i> sporozoites in the head-thorax. Precipitation seasonality and warmest-quarter rainfall were associated with <i>MB</i> occurrence in field mosquito populations, while diurnal temperature range and human population density strongly predicted <i>MB</i> occurrence in geospatial modelling across Edo and Delta. We show that <i>MB</i> occurrence is associated with environmental conditions in southern Nigeria. Our results suggest <i>MB</i> may be constraining the malaria-transmission capacity of <i>Anopheles</i> vectors in southern Nigeria. However, large-scale surveys and controlled field experiments are needed to validate findings.</p>

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Microsporidia MB-infected mosquitoes test negative for malaria sporozoites and exhibit environmentally associated distributions in southern Nigeria

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月29日

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  • Faith I. Ebhodaghe,
  • Irma Sanchèz-Vargas,
  • Savanna A. Schroth,
  • Clement Isaac,
  • Elizabeth Hemming-Schroeder

摘要

Microsporidia MB (MB) is a promising malaria control agent whose biological interactions with Plasmodium falciparum and ecological distribution remain poorly understood in Nigeria, the highest malaria-burden country globally in need of innovative malaria control tools. We assessed field and potential distributions of MB in Edo and Delta—areas in southern Nigeria experiencing perennial malaria transmission. Wild-caught Anopheles mosquitoes were molecularly screened for MB and P. falciparum, with an objective to provide insights into whether MB limits the capacity of field mosquitoes to transmit P. falciparum. Despite malaria hyper-endemicity in the study area and the choice of an ultrasensitive assay for parasite detection, MB-positive An. coluzzii and An. gambiae sensu stricto—including mosquitoes with P. falciparum in the midguts—were negative for P. falciparum sporozoites in the head-thorax. Precipitation seasonality and warmest-quarter rainfall were associated with MB occurrence in field mosquito populations, while diurnal temperature range and human population density strongly predicted MB occurrence in geospatial modelling across Edo and Delta. We show that MB occurrence is associated with environmental conditions in southern Nigeria. Our results suggest MB may be constraining the malaria-transmission capacity of Anopheles vectors in southern Nigeria. However, large-scale surveys and controlled field experiments are needed to validate findings.