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Environmental conditions, especially temperature and rainfall, influence transmission dynamics of vector-borne infections such as malaria. Researchers recently conducted a study in western Kenya to determine whether deforestation could change microclimates to favor malaria transmission by speeding parasite development in mosquitoes.
Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes fed with Plasmodium falciparum–infected blood were placed in cages in houses at three sites: one deforested (i.e., canopy cover <10%) lowland, one deforested highland, and one forested highland. Blood used to infect the mosquitoes was obtained from local students who carried gametocytes. Starting 5 days after placement, 30 mosquitoes from each site were dissected every 5 days. The num…