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Background The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a vector control strategy relying on the mass release of sterile males into wild vector populations. Current sex separation techniques are not fully efficient and could lead to the release of a small proportion of females. It is therefore important to evaluate the effect of irradiation on the ability of released females to transmit pathogens. This study aimed to assess the effect of irradiation on the survival and competence of Anopheles arabiensis females for Plasmodium falciparum in laboratory conditions. Methods Pupae were irradiated at 95 Gy of gamma-rays, and emerging females were challenged with one of 14 natural isolates of P. falciparum. Seven days post-blood meal (dpbm), irradiated and unirradiated-control females were dissected to assess the presence of oocysts, using 8 parasite isolates. On 14 dpbm, sporozoite dissemination in the head/thorax was also examined, using 10 parasites isolates including 4 in common with the 7 dpbm dissection (oocyst data). The survivorship of irradiated and unirradiated-control mosquitoes was monitored. Results Overall, irradiation reduced the proportion of mosquitoes infected with the oocyst stages by 17% but this effect was highly inconsistent among parasite isolates. Secondly, there was no significant effect of irradiation on the number of developing oocysts. Thirdly, there was no significant difference in both the sporozoite infection rate and load between the irradiated and unirradiated-control mosquitoes. Fourthly, irradiation had varying effects on female survival with either a negative effect or no effect. Conclusions The effect of irradiation on mosquito competence strongly varied among parasite isolates. Because of such isolate variability and, the fact that different parasite isolates were used to collect oocyst and sporozoite data, the irradiation-mediated reduction of oocyst prevalence was not confirmed for the sporozoite stages. Our data indicate that irradiated female An. arabiensis could contribute to malaria transmission, and highlight the need for perfect sexing tools, which would prevent the release of females as part of SIT programmes.

Background Around half of the global population is living in areas at risk of malaria infection. Plasmodium vivax malaria has become increasingly prevalent and responsible for a high health and socio-economic burden in Ethiopia. The availability of gametocyte carriers and mosquito species susceptible to P. vivax infection are vital for malaria transmission. Determining the susceptibility of vector species to parasite infection in space and time is important in vector control programs. This study assesses the susceptibility of Anopheles arabiensis, An. pharoensis and An. coustani group to Plasmodium vivax infection in Ethiopia. Methods Larvae of An. arabiensis, An. pharoensis and An. coustani group were collected from an array of breeding sites and reared to adult under controlled conditions. Batches of adult female mosquitoes of the three species were allowed to feed in parallel on the same infected blood with gametocytes drawn from Plasmodium vivax infected patients by Direct Membrane Feeding Assays (DMFA). Fed mosquitoes were kept in an incubator under controlled laboratory conditions. Seven days after each feeding assay, mosquitoes were dissected for midgut oocyst microscopy and enumeration. Data were analysed using R statistical software package version 3.1.0. Results Over all, 8,139 adult female mosquitoes were exposed to P. vivax infection. Of the exposed mosquitoes 16.64 % (95 % CI: 1,354–8,139) were properly fed and survived until dissection. The infection rate in An. arabiensis and An. pharoensis was 31.72 % (95 % CI: 28.35–35.08) and 28.80 % (95 % CI: 25.31–32.28), respectively. The intensity of infection for An. arabiensis and An. pharoensis was 2.5 (95 % CI: 1.9–3.2) and 1.4 (95 % CI: 1.1–1.8), respectively. Gametocyte density was positively correlated to infection rate and intensity of infection in An. arabiensis as well as An. pharoensis. No An. coustani group mosquitoes were found infected, though almost four hundred mosquitoes were successfully fed and dissected. All groups received blood from the same infected blood source containing gametocytes in parallel. There was no significant difference in susceptibility rates between An. arabiensis and An. pharoensis (P = 0.215). Conclusions Anopheles arabiensis and An. pharoensis showed similar susceptibility to P. vivax infection. However, An. coustani group was not permissive for the development of P. vivax parasites.