A study on certain biological control methods to control and manage vector-borne diseases

Abstract

Vector-borne diseases are the diseases which are caused by pathogens, i.e., parasites, viruses and bacteria that are transmitted by vectors, such as, mosquitoes, snails, blackflies, sandflies, fleas, lice, tsetse flies, ticks, bugs, etc. It becomes essential to control the vector so as to cut off or limit the transmission of pathogens by reducing or elimination the human contact with the vector. Use of chemical control methods results in accumulation of insecticides in the food chain, moreover, the vector may become resistant to the insecticides. Therefore, biological control methods should be employed as they are safe, environment friendly, sustainable, targets the mosquito species and reduces the use of insecticides. Biological control methods attempt to utilize the natural enemies of mosquitoes at different stages of life cycle, both as predators and parasites. Mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting several diseases, including malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Zika, filariasis, yellow fever, etc. This review study presents an overview of vectors, vector-borne diseases and certain biological control methods with reference to mosquito-borne diseases.