The inaugural training course of APMEN’s flagship capacity development program for Asia Pacific NMCP and partner institutions. The course aims to ensure national program entomologists in the countries are trained in entomological surveillance and best practice field and laboratory techniques relevant to control and elimination settings; this capacity building exercise hopes to also contribute to achievement of the regional targets set for malaria elimination, by making vector control more efficient, cost-effective, ecologically sound and sustainable.

MVSE is the flagship training program initiated by APMEN. It specifically targets capacity gaps in vector identification (morphology and molecular) and mapping, insecticide-resistance testing, and data-informed decision making for vector control strategies

The Joint APMEN – Mohanlal Sukhadia University 3^rd International Training Course on Malaria Vector Surveillance for Elimination

Vector control is the single most effective intervention for achieving a reduction in malaria transmission. Such vector control must be underpinned by a thorough understanding of which vector species are present in a particular area, relative abundance of the various species, breeding site preference, feeding and resting behavior, insecticide susceptibility, data management, data interpretation, all of this then integrated into an effective vector control plan. Each of these elements requires knowledge and skills for effective data sourcing, processing and application, without which vector control programmes would be wasteful and misdirected, or even completely ineffective. APMEN adds value to such capacity gaps which often occur in programmes, to achieve optimized levels of vector surveillance which is the foundation for effective vector control interventions. 

This July, we have conducted The Joint APMEN – Mohanlal Sukhadia University 3^rd International Training Course on Malaria Vector Surveillance for Elimination in Rajasthan India. Twenty-one candidates from seven countries across the South Asia region have been selected competitively for this course.

Presentation files:

We are delighted to conclude that the 4th MVSE was a success. Here is the summary of the activity.

For this 4^th Malaria Vector Surveillance for Elimination course held in Indonesia, we consulted with knowledgeable vector experts within the APMEN VCWG, which includes persons from across the world, to identify an appropriate host institution in Indonesia to host the course. The Institute for Vector and Reservoir Control Research and Development (IVRCRD) soon emerged as a consensus choice to approach, and after their agreement and an on-site visit by an APMEN VCWG representative in December 2022 to assess local infrastructure and capacity, detailed discussions commenced to hold the course at the IVRCRD compound in Salatiga, Indonesia. Early in the discussions with the Indonesian Ministry of Health (MOH) they requested that they did not wish to be direct recipients of significant funds or financial responsibilities, and so an Intermediary organization (Indonesian Parasitic Diseases Control organization – IPDCA) was contracted to undertake local travel, accommodation and other logistical arrangements, and liaise with IVRCRD to ensure all arrangement were done professionally and effectively. APMEN proceeded with the invitation and selection of the country representatives for training. In keeping with the APMEN model of conducting the courses on a geographically rotational basis, invitations targeted the Malay Archipelago for this round, and so the geographies of the Borneo provinces of Malaysia (Sarawak/Sabah), Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Papua New Guinea. An exception was made to invite Pakistan and Afghanistan representatives, who for political reasons were not able to participate in the South Asia course in 2022, but as it turned out visa challenges again prevented the Afghanistan nominees from attending, although we were able to welcome two participants from Pakistan. A total of 22 country representatives were eventually able to attend, as listed in the accompanying table.

The course was held from 3 to 15 July, covered topics on vector surveillance techniques, morphological identification, field activities, insecticide susceptibility assays, and insectary methods and colony management and it was a clear success. Day 1 was devoted to background presentations outlining the status of vector-borne diseases in Asia-Pacific, including malaria (Siswanto, Elyazar), lymphatic filariasis, arboviruses such as dengue, zika and chikungunya (Krishnamoorthy, Velayudhan), community engagement (Kusriastuti), how Sri Lanka achieved malaria Elimination (Harishchandra), and the history of vector control over the preceding century (Braack). Several speakers shared their knowledge remotely from places such as Geneva and Colombo and were well received by the audience with good audience participation by way of questions and comments. Day 2 in its entirety was taken up by an excellent series of presentations on designing and implementing a vector surveillance program, presented by Prof Neil Lobo from the University of Notre Dame in the USA, who has a wealth of practical experience from his surveillance work in Africa and Asia. During the late afternoon of Day 2 we also had an hour-long excellent presentation by Prof Sylvie Manguin on mosquito species complexes and groups, and the dominant vector species in Asia-Pacific including bionomics. Day 3 saw the start of the multiple days that would be spent on mosquito identification aspects, this day being devoted to mosquito morphology, introduction to the main general of mosquitoes (Anopheles, Aedes, Culex, Mansonia, Armigeres, etc). On Day 4 the group travelled by mini-bus to the small city of Magelang, and from there to the village of Komboran where we placed multiple CDC light traps as well as human double net traps, an animal-baited net (buffalo), and did human landing catches until ten pm before returning to our hotel in Magelang. Early the next day we returned to Komboran to empty the human double net trap and animal baited trap of mosquitoes before sunrise, and did a pyrethrum knockdown catch as well as Prokopack and hand-aspirator collections of resting mosquitoes. Time was spent demonstrating and practicing mosquito larval collections, before returning to the hotel for sample processing. On Day6 the group travelled back to Salatiga, but made a memorable stop at the Borobudur temple, the biggest Buddhist temple in the world and dating back to the 9^th century. Sunday 9^th July was a Day-Off for participants to catch up with emails, laundry and other chores, before resuming training again on Day 8 which was entirely devoted to learning the use of Dichotomous Keys for identifying mosquitoes, as was also Day 9; the group also benefitted from a lecture by Dr Tanya Russel (PacMOSSI, Australia) on morphology, behavior, disease transmission and control of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Multiple pinned specimens of different Anopheles species were available for participants to use for practice. On Day 10 we introduced the participants to some other genera of mosquitoes again, and then launched into the description and demonstration of insecticide susceptibility monitoring and the WHO tube tests, bottle bioassays and cone bioassays. Day 11 was spent on further demonstration of the insecticide resistance testing, as well as demonstration of insectary establishment and maintenance as well as related issues of forced mating of certain mosquitoes, blood-feeding of mosquitoes etc. Our Gala Dinner took place in the garden of our hotel, with memorable displays of traditional dancing and singing and shared good spirit of new friends and comraderie, as well as handing out of the Course Photo and Certificates. The final day, Friday 14^th July, was spent on an overview of PCR and ELISA techniques, and the Post-Course Evaluation, the course coming to an end at lunchtime. Not only did the participants learn a great deal, but they made regional friends and established networks that would benefit them in years ahead.