Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (540 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Insects that transmit infective organisms from one host to another or from an inanimate reservoir to an animate host.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Insect Vector; Vector, Insect; Vectors, Insect.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Arthropod Vectors
- Narrower topics
- Mosquito Vectors
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 35,153 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Insect Vectors” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 9,983 of them (28.4%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 10,825 records.
Reviews account for 3,683 records (10.5%) and meta-analyses for 88. Randomized controlled trials number 207 (0.6%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 8,404 |
| 2000-2009 | 5,941 |
| 2010-2019 | 10,825 |
| 2020 onward | 9,983 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 3,683 | 10.5% |
| Meta-analyses | 88 | 0.3% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 207 | 0.6% |
Method: PubMed query "Insect Vectors"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in public health and nutrition
Population and nutrition studies mostly observe what people eat, breathe or are exposed to and then look for links with health, which shows association and not proof of cause. Self-reported diet is imprecise, people who eat or live differently also differ in other ways, and effects measured across a population may not apply to one person. Check the study design, how exposure was measured, what else was accounted for and the size of the effect, not only whether it was statistically significant.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integrating multiplexing into confineable gene drives effectively overrides resistance in Anopheles stephensi | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 4 | cc by PMID 42115602 · DOI · PMC13388953 |
| Not all West Nile virus lineages behave alike: dose-response differences between lineages 1 and 2 | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 3 | cc by PMID 42552348 · DOI · PMC13438650 |
| Serendipitous detection of invasive malaria vector Anopheles stephensi in Kisumu, Kenya in June 2022 | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42082659 · DOI · PMC13328431 |
Integrating multiplexing into confineable gene drives effectively overrides resistance in Anopheles stephensi [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Anopheles stephensi is a major malaria vector mainly present in southern Asia and the Arabian Peninsula.
- Closing excerpt
- Further modelling using parameters derived from the strains generated indicates that while both strategies can overcome resistance allele formation, the fitness of the drive-carrying alleles is a critical factor in determining the overall performance and persistence of a split drive.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (196 words)
Anopheles stephensi is a major malaria vector mainly present in southern Asia and the Arabian Peninsula. Since 2012 it has invaded several countries of eastern Africa, stimulating urgent efforts to develop more efficient strategies for vector control such as CRISPR/Cas9-based homing gene drives. Target site resistance due to end-joining repair is a significant challenge to the deployment of these systems. The use of multiple sgRNAs has the potential to solve this issue. Here we perform experimental crosses to assess the homing and cutting efficiency of both classical (e.g. four adjacent sgRNAs all in one construct) and additive (e.g. separate constructs each expressing a single sgRNA) multiplexing strategies targeting the cardinal locus, in the presence and absence of a resistance allele. We find resistance alleles at one sgRNA target site can be mitigated by the presence of the additional sgRNAs with either strategy, and do not significantly reduce the homing efficiency for either strategy, validating their effectiveness. Further modelling using parameters derived from the strains generated indicates that while both strategies can overcome resistance allele formation, the fitness of the drive-carrying alleles is a critical factor in determining the overall performance and persistence of a split drive.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42115602 · DOI · PMC13388953
Not all West Nile virus lineages behave alike: dose-response differences between lineages 1 and 2 [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The globally distributed arbovirus West Nile virus (WNV) is expanding across Europe, with rising numbers of human cases and an increasingly broad geographic distribution.
- Closing excerpt
- These findings highlight important differences between WNV lineages, improve our understanding of dose-dependent transmission, and therefore support refined risk assessments in Europe.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (152 words)
The globally distributed arbovirus West Nile virus (WNV) is expanding across Europe, with rising numbers of human cases and an increasingly broad geographic distribution. Transmitted primarily by Culex mosquitoes, WNV lineages 1 and 2 are pathogenic to humans, yet their differences in transmission dynamics remain unclear. As vertebrate hosts develop varying viremia, mosquitoes encounter a wide range of viral doses, which may influence transmission. Here, we investigated the dose-response differences between the lineages in Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens, Cx. torrentium, and Aedes albopictus. Mosquitoes were fed increasing titers of one strain of either WNV lineage, and infection and transmission were assessed after 14 days at 24 °C. Lineage 2 required lower infectious doses while causing higher transmission. Notably, Cx. torrentium was identified as a highly competent vector for lineage 2. These findings highlight important differences between WNV lineages, improve our understanding of dose-dependent transmission, and therefore support refined risk assessments in Europe.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42552348 · DOI · PMC13438650
Serendipitous detection of invasive malaria vector Anopheles stephensi in Kisumu, Kenya in June 2022 [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Anopheles stephensi is an invasive malaria vector that has been rapidly spreading within Africa since it was first identified in Djibouti in 2012.
- Closing excerpt
- Therefore, we recommend continued entomological and malaria case surveillance in this area to evaluate how shifting vector dynamics and vector-livestock interactions may impact future control initiatives.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (192 words)
Anopheles stephensi is an invasive malaria vector that has been rapidly spreading within Africa since it was first identified in Djibouti in 2012. As of 2025, it has been identified in eight other countries: Ethiopia, Sudan, Somaliland, Eritrea, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Niger. We collected mosquitoes from an urban slaughterhouse in Kisumu City in western Kenya in mid-2022 for bloodmeal analyses. 19.6% (11/56) of the amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) assigned using the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) returned matches for mosquito species, one of which was An. stephensi, from one pool of five mosquitoes that had been morphologically classified as An. gambiae s.l. Further analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (cox1) gene later confirmed the presence of An. stephensi, which were distributed across two well-supported clades. Some haplotypes grouped with others from northern Kenya (Wajir and Marsabit), while others clustered with haplotypes from Ethiopia and Sudan. This serendipitous detection of An. stephensi is the first report of the species South of the Equator. Therefore, we recommend continued entomological and malaria case surveillance in this area to evaluate how shifting vector dynamics and vector-livestock interactions may impact future control initiatives.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42082659 · DOI · PMC13328431
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article The Global Expansion of Dengue: How Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Enabled the First Pandemic Arbovirus [4]
- Research article Management of insecticide resistance in the major Aedes vectors of arboviruses: Advances and challenges [5]
- Research article Zika virus-spread, epidemiology, genome, transmission cycle, clinical manifestation, associated challenges, vaccine and antiviral drug development [6]
- Research article Globe-Trotting Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus: Risk Factors for Arbovirus Pandemics [7]
- Research article Not Just from Blood: Mosquito Nutrient Acquisition from Nectar Sources [8]
- Research article Pathogenomics of Culex quinquefasciatus and meta-analysis of infection responses to diverse pathogens [9]
References
- Larrosa-Godall M, Shackleford L, Edgington MP, Leftwich PT, Luk JCY, Southworth J, et al.. Integrating multiplexing into confineable gene drives effectively overrides resistance in Anopheles stephensi. . 2026. PMID 42115602 · DOI · PMC13388953
- Höller P, Sauer FG, Lühken R, Becker N, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Jansen S, et al.. Not all West Nile virus lineages behave alike: dose-response differences between lineages 1 and 2. . 2026. PMID 42552348 · DOI · PMC13438650
- Ndenga BA, Owuor KO, Wambua S, Bartilol B, Maia M, Mwangangi J, et al.. Serendipitous detection of invasive malaria vector Anopheles stephensi in Kisumu, Kenya in June 2022. . 2026. PMID 42082659 · DOI · PMC13328431
- Brady OJ, Hay SI. The Global Expansion of Dengue: How Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Enabled the First Pandemic Arbovirus. Annu Rev Entomol. 2020. PMID 31594415 · DOI
- Dusfour I, Vontas J, David JP, Weetman D, Fonseca DM, Corbel V, et al.. Management of insecticide resistance in the major Aedes vectors of arboviruses: Advances and challenges. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019. PMID 31600206 · DOI · PMC6786541
- Pielnaa P, Al-Saadawe M, Saro A, Dama MF, Zhou M, Huang Y, et al.. Zika virus-spread, epidemiology, genome, transmission cycle, clinical manifestation, associated challenges, vaccine and antiviral drug development. Virology. 2020. PMID 32056845 · DOI
- Lwande OW, Obanda V, Lindström A, Ahlm C, Evander M, Näslund J, et al.. Globe-Trotting Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus: Risk Factors for Arbovirus Pandemics. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2020. PMID 31556813 · DOI · PMC7041325
- Barredo E, DeGennaro M. Not Just from Blood: Mosquito Nutrient Acquisition from Nectar Sources. Trends Parasitol. 2020. PMID 32298634 · DOI
- Bartholomay LC, Waterhouse RM, Mayhew GF, Campbell CL, Michel K, Zou Z, et al.. Pathogenomics of Culex quinquefasciatus and meta-analysis of infection responses to diverse pathogens. Science. 2010. PMID 20929811 · DOI · PMC3104938
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.