Army Malaria Institute -
Department of Vector Surveillance and Control

Mission

To provide the ADF with the best possible risk assessment, surveillance methods and protection against vectors of disease, and provide advice on the latest control measures available for vectors, especially mosquitoes.

Facilities

• Australian Quarantine approved insectaries currently housing colonies of : Anopheles farauti, Aedes vigilax, Culex annulirostris and Aedes aegypti
• Laboratories dedicated to the screening and evaluation of insect repellents and insecticides
• Fully equipped laboratory for the molecular identification of vectors and the incrimination of vector species responsible for the transmission of malaria, arboviruses and filariasis
• Field sites in Australia for studying arbovirus transmission and evaluating insect repellents and insecticides - Mt Bundey NT, Cowley Beach QLD, Shoalwater Bay QLD and Wide Bay QLD.
• Field sites in Vietnam, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu for malaria vector and disease transmission studies

Current Research Projects

1. Vector Borne Disease surveillance, transmission potential and risk assessment in countries where ADF personnel deploy.
2. Conduct surveillance of arbovirus vectors: density, seasonality and infection rates in military training areas.
3. Development of ecological niche models to predict vector distributions and the climatic factors associated with species distribution. Such models are useful in predicting future vector and disease distribution under various climate change scenarios.
4. Evaluate personal protection measures used by the ADF under field conditions, especially topical mosquito repellents, impregnated military clothing, tentage and bednets for patrolling soldiers.
5. Evaluate the use of pyrethroid insecticides in military fabrics in protecting against nuisance and vector mosquitoes.
6. Studies on speciation and identification of Aedes Culex and Anopheles species as vectors of malaria and arboviruses in southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific
7. Vector surveillance as part of the control and elimination of malaria from the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

Collaborators

Australian

• Institute for the Biotechnology of Infectious Diseases, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW
• Tropical Public Health Program, Queensland Health, Cairns, Qld
• Department of Microbiology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld
• School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland
• Queensland Health Scientific Services, Australia
• AusAID Pacific Malaria Initiative

International

• Defense Warfighters Program , Armed Forces Pest Management Board, Washington, USA
• Department of Military Medicine, and the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam
• Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology. Quy Nhon, Vietnam

Publications

2004

Cooper, R.D., S.P. Frances, S. Popat and D.G.E. Waterson (2004). The effectiveness of light, 1-octen-3-ol, and carbon dioxide as attractants for anopheline mosquitoes in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 20: 239-242.

Frances S.P., R.D. Cooper, K.L. Rowcliffe, N. Chen and Q. Cheng. (2004). Occurrence of Ross River virus and Barmah Forest virus in mosquitoes at Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area, Queensland, Australia. J. Med. Entomol. 41: 115-120.

Hanna J.N., S.A. Ritchie, D.P. Eisen, R.D. Cooper, D.L. Brookes and B.L. Montgomery. (2004). An outbreak of Plasmodium vivax malaria in Far North Queensland, 2002. Med. J. Aust. 180: 24-28.

Frances, S.P., D.G.E. Waterson, N.W. Beebe and R.D. Cooper. (2004). Field evaluation of repellent formulations containing deet and picaridin against mosquitoes in Northern Territory, Australia. J. Med. Entomol. 41: 414-417. 56.

2005

Foley, D.H. and S.P. Frances. (2005). Laboratory evaluation of methylated coconut oil as a larvicide for Anopheles farauti and Culex annulirostris. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 21: 477-479.

Frances, S.P. (2005). Potential for horizontal transmission of Orientia tsutsugamushi by chigger mites (Acari: Trombiculidae). Internat. J. Acarol. 31: 75-82.

Frances, S.P., R.M. Marlow, C.C. Jansen, R.L. Huggins and R.D. Cooper (2005). Laboratory and field evaluation of commercial repellent formulations against mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Queensland, Australia. Aust. J. Entomol. 44: 431-436.

Frances, S.P., D.G.E. Waterson, N.W. Beebe and R.D. Cooper. (2005). Field evaluation of commercial repellent formulations against mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Northern Territory, Australia. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 21: 480-482.

Frances, S.P. and R.A. Wirtz. (2005). Repellents: Past, Present and Future. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 21 (Suppl.): 1-3.

2006

Cooper, R.D., D.G.E. Waterson, S.P. Frances, N.W. Beebe and A.W. Sweeney. (2006). The anopheline fauna of Papua New Guinea. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 22: 213-221.

Reid, M., D. MacKenzie, A. Baron, N. Lehman, K. Lowry, J. Aaskov, F. Guirakhoo and T.P Monath. (2006). Experimental infection of Culex annulirostris, Culex gelidus, and Aedes vigilax with a Yellow fever/Japanese Encephalitis virus vaccine chimera (Chimerivax™-JE). Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 75: 659-663.

Ritchie, S.A., P. Moore, M. Carruthers, C. Williams, B. Montgomery, P. Foley, S. Ahboo, A.F. van den Hurk, M.D. Lindsay, B. Cooper, N. Beebe and R.C. Russell. (2006). Discovery of a widespread infestation of Aedes albopictus in the Torres Strait, Australia. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 22: 358-365.

Sweeney, A.W., N.W. Beebe, R.D. Cooper, J.T. Bauer and A.T. Peterson. (2006). Environmental factors associated with distribution and range limits of malaria vector Anopheles farauti in Australia. J. Med. Entomol. 43: 1068-1075.

van den Hurk, A.F., B.L. Montgomery, P. Zborowski, N.W. Beebe, R.D. Cooper and S.A. Ritchie. (2006). Does 1-Octen-3-ol enhance trap collections of Japanese Encephalitis virus mosquito vectors in northern Australia? J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 22: 15-21.

2007

Beebe, N.W., P.I. Whelan, A.F. van den Hurk, S.A. Ritchie, S. Corcoran and R.D. Cooper.(2007). A DNA-based diagnostic for Australian container breeding mosquitoes. J. Med. Entomol. 44: In Press.

Debboun, M., S. P. Frances, and D. Strickman (Eds.) (2007). Insect Repellents: Principles, Methods & Uses, 1st ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, 495pp.

Foley, D.H., R.D. Wilkerson, R.D. Cooper, M. Volovsek, and J.H. Bryan. (2007). A molecular phylogeny of Anopheles annulipes (Diptera: Culicidae) sensu lato; the most species rich anopheline group. Mol. Phyl. Evol.In Press.

Frances, S.P. (2007). Evaluation of bifenthrin and permethrin as barrier treatments for military tents against mosquitoes in Queensland, Australia. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 23: In Press.

Frances, S.P. and R.D. Cooper. (2007). Personal protective measures against mosquitoes:insecticide-treated uniforms, bednets and tents. ADF Health 8: 50-56.

Hemmerter, S. J. Slapeta, A.F. van den Hurk, R.D. Cooper, P.I. Whelan, R.C. Russell, C.A. Johansen and N.W. Beebe. (2007). A curious coincidence: mosquito biodiversity and the limits of the Japanese encephalitis virus in Australasia. BMC Evol. Biol. 7:100.

van den Hurk,AF van den Hurk, A.F., P.H. Johnson, S. Hall-Mendelin, J.A. Northill, R.J. Simmons, C.C. Jansen, S.P. Frances, G.A. Smith and S.A. Ritchie. (2007). Expectoration of flaviviruses during sugar feeding by mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). J. Med. Entomol. 44: 845-850.

Sweeney, A.W., N.W. Beebe and R.D. Cooper.(2007) Analysis of environmental factors influencing the range of anopheline mosquitoes in northern Australia using a genetic algorithm and data mining methods. Ecol. Modeling; In Press

2008

Frances, S.P., L.M. Baade, J. Kubofcik, T.B. Nutman, W.D. Melrose, J.S. McCarthy and M.D. Nissen. (2008). Seroconversion to filarial antigens in Australian Defence Force personnel in Timor-Leste. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 78:560-563.

Frances, S.P., R.L. Huggins and R.D. Cooper. (2008). Evaluation of the inhibition of egglaying, larvicidal effects and bloodfeeding success of Aedes aegypti exposed to permethrin and bifenthrin treated military tent fabric. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 24: In Press.

Do Manh Cuong, Nguyen Thi Hong Van, Le Quang Tao, Tran Lien Chau, Nguyen Xuan Thanh and RD Cooper. (2008). Identification of members of the Minimus Complex and related species in Vietnam. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Hlth. 39: 827-831.

McGinn, D., S.P. Frances, A.W. Sweeney, M.D. Brown and R.D. Cooper. (2008). Evaluation of Bistar 80SC® (Bifenthrin) as a tent treatment for protection against mosquitoes in Northern Territory, Australia. J. Med. Entomol. 45: In Press