Vector (biology)

From WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia

A vector in biology is an animal on or in which a small living thing gets transported. The vector gets no benefit and sometimes loses fitness by the arrangement.

The term is most used for the transport of parasites and agents of disease. So, deadly diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, are carried by some mosquitoes.

The study of vectors gives us knowledge about the life cycle of parasitic diseases, and this helps us control those diseases.

Examples[edit | edit source]

An Anopheles stephensi mosquito shortly after obtaining blood from a human (the droplet of blood is expelled as a surplus). This mosquito is a vector of malaria. Fighting mosquitos in areas with malaria will fight malaria effectively.

Insects[edit | edit source]

Flies[edit | edit source]

Bugs[edit | edit source]

Other insects[edit | edit source]

Other groups[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "MicrobiologyBytes: Malaria".
  2. CDC: Aedes albopictus
  3. "Stages in the identification of phlebotomine sandflies as vectors of leishmaniases and other tropical diseases".
  4. "Trypanosomiasis, human African (sleeping sickness)". www.who.int.
  5. "Metapathogen.com Is For Sale". www.metapathogen.com.
  6. "Chagas disease". www.who.int.
  7. http://www.ttlntl.co.uk/3/Diseases/fleas.htm Taking the Lead: Fleas
  8. "Almeida Lab". Almeida Lab.
  9. "Metapathogen.com Is For Sale". www.metapathogen.com.
  10. "Rickettsial Diseases, including Typhus and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever". www.textbookofbacteriology.net.
  11. Halpin K, Young PL, Field HE, Mackenzie JS. Isolation of Hendra virus from pteropid bats: a natural reservoir of Hendra virus. Journal of General Virology. 2000 Aug;81(Pt 8):1927-32. PMID 10900029
  12. Li W, Shi Z, Yu M, Ren W, et al. Bats are natural reservoirs of SARS-like coronaviruses. Science. 2005 Oct 28;310(5748):676-9. Epub 2005 Sep 29. PMID 16195424
  13. McColl KA, Tordo N, Aguilar Setién AA. Bat lyssavirus infections. Rev Sci Tech. 2000 Apr;19(1):177-96. PMID 11189715
  14. Arellano-Sota C. Rev Infect Dis. 1988 Nov-Dec;10 Suppl 4:S707-9. Vampire bat-transmitted rabies in cattle. PMID 3206085
  15. Vivan AL, Caceres RA, Basso LA, et al.Structural studies of PNP from Toxoplasma gondii. Int J Bioinform Res Appl. 2009;5(2):154-62. PMID 19324601
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Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD