PANATCHAYA SOMAREE

[PANATCHAYA SOMAREE]

Hello everyone, It’s me Panatchaya Somaree Student ID 6438168.

1. I will begin my discussion with the routine work of vector surveillance for malaria.
First of all, I agree with one of my friend’s point that in order to do vector surveillance, you need to understand the objectives beforehand. The objectives indicate the scope of work and facilitate a better planning.
Objectives: For the objectives of the vector surveillance would be to identify the transmission pattern, to investigate the habits and habitats of the local vector species, to monitor the seasonality and abundance of vector population in term of early warning of malaria outbreak and also to plan for a vector control program (select the appropriate method with appropriate time and place).
Planning: After we understand the objectives, we should consider the timing and the manpower in order to select the appropriate study design (such as cross-sectional study, retrospective study or experimental study) and the appropriate sampling methods (how many samples and which methods).
– The suitable types of mosquito survey (such as preliminary survey, regular/trend observation, spot checks or foci investigation) should be considered and also the collection techniques of larvae or adults are needed as well.
– We need to concern about the biology of what we collect in this case are Anopheles mosquitoes so we could decide the methods of handling and preserving. Then we could prepare a list of equipments needed (such as dippers for collecting the larvae or silica beads for handling ).
– Moreover, we should also plan what to record (such as time/date, place, collector), how to report and analyze the data for example generate the data with Microsoft Excel and analyze in terms of graphs to facilitate the interpretation and conclusion.

2. For the Thai-Myanmar border in Tak province’s malaria outbreak situation, in term of
– Objectives:
1. To identify the causes of malaria outbreak in this area (such as human factors, seasonal period, insecticide resistance, high vector density)
2. To identify the species of mosquito vector responsible for malaria transmission in this area
3. To effectively control of malarial vector
4. To evaluate the efficacy of the vector control program
– Planning:
1. Evaluate the malaria outbreak situation in this area and gather all related information
2. Select the appropriate study design. I agree with my friends that the cross-sectional study should be conduct in this case because it’s quick and we want to collect the data only during this outbreak period in order to quick control of the outbreak
3. Select the appropriate sampling techniques. We need to know the habits and habitats of this vector species first such as the potential breeding sites or the resting places. In my opinion, we should use the systematic sampling. We need to know the sample size and sampling interval.
4. We should know the timing and the manpower beforehand in order to separate the tasks responsibilities.
– Program activities: The manpower should be considered in order to create timetables. We might separate into groups like the one responsible for the mosquito survey could active in the evening and the one responsible for generating or analyzing data could active during daytime. This could help in less time consuming and balancing the workloads.
– Methods:
There are various methods for mosquito collection based on which stage we want to collect. In this case, for the adult stage of Anopheles mosquito collection, the trapping method should be use such as the BG trapping or CDC light trapping. For the immature stage, the dipping method using the dippers should perform. After mosquito collection, we need good methods in order to maintain the best quality prior to the laboratory detection including handling, preserving and transporting. For handling the mosquitoes, we use silica gel to absorb moisture and prevent fungi. The transportation of alive mosquitoes requires the primary and secondary containers. The primary container must be covered with the ice pack to maintain the cold temperature. The preservation of mosquito can perform in 70-80% of ethanol for immature stage. The adult stage can preserved by pinning. All of the samples must be labelled or coded. Then, the identification of mosquito species will be perform in the next step using the morphology identification and molecular techniques.
– Analysis: Gathering the collected data and generate the data in terms of graphs with the programs such as Microsoft Excel. Some data should be calculated according to the formula before concluding. After analyzing concluding should be done.
– Reports: The reports should include the methods and techniques using, conclusion and results of this program. The explanation whether the results could meet the objectives or not. The discussion about the successful and failure from this program. The methods to deal with those mistakes. As well as, how to bring these informations to apply in the new vector control program.

Thank you very much.

[PANATCHAYA SOMAREE]

TMEN513 Lab Exam: Ticks and Mites
Panatchaya Somaree ID:6438168

Question 1: What is the respiratory organ of the suborder Astigmata? How do they breathe?
Answer: The suborder Astigmata have no respiration opening (stigmata), therefore they have to breath through their cuticle or their skin.

Question 2: What is the difference between hard ticks and soft ticks? How you differentiate between male and female of hard tick?
Answer:
The difference of hard ticks and soft ticks are the scutum, the mouthpart, and the different appearance between both sexes.
– The hard ticks have scutum (hard plate or dorsal plate) on their body, their mouthparts projecting in front of the body, and there’s a difference between male and female.
– The soft ticks lack of scutum. They have flexible, tough, bulbous bodies that cover the mouthparts (which located ventrally) and most of the legs. Both sexes of soft ticks are similar in appearance.

The differentiation between male and female hard tick is the scutum. The scutum of the female hard tick covers only 1/3 of body, whereas the male hard tick’s scutum covers the whole body.

Question 3: Please describe how you characterize the mites (at least two groups).
Answer: The mites can be characterize based on the morphology of each species. The examples of the mites characters in each group are mentioned below:
– Itch mites or Sarcoptes scabiei (can cause scabies): very small in size with rounded body and very shorts legs. Male itch mites have caruncles (suckers) at 1st, 2nd, and 4th pair of legs, while the 3rd pair of legs end in the long hair bristle and the anus looks like bell shape (epiandrium). In female itch mites, they have the caruncles (suckers) at 1st and 2nd pair of legs, while the 3rd and 4th pair of legs end in the long hair bristle.
– House dust mites or Dermatophagoides sp.: small in size with fine/coarse wrinkle cuticle. Male house dust mites have genital organ looks like V-shaped located between last 2 pairs of legs with the anus sucker at ventral side. In female, the genital organ or vulva is in a reverse y-shape or v-shape with anus at ventral side.

[PANATCHAYA SOMAREE]

TMEN513 Lab Exam: Cockroaches and Bugs
Panatchaya Somaree ID:6438168

Question1: Please describe how you identify the cockroaches (selecting at least two species)
Answer: In order to identify or distinguish the cockroaches, the “morphology” is what needed, whether looking at the size, the present of some organs, or the characteristic of the organs which differ among sexes or species. The following species are the examples of the cockroaches’ identification using morphology.
– Blatta orientalis (Oriental cockroach): large-sized cockroaches with dark color. In female, the wings are very short called pads (difficult to find). In male, the wings covered 3/4 part of the abdomen
– Blatta germanica (German cockroach): small-sized cockroaches with specific characteristics of having 2 longitudinal dark bands on pronotum. In female, wings are longer than the abdomen. In male, wings are about the same length or slightly shorter than the abdomen.
– Supella longipalpa (ฺBrown-banded cockroach): small-sized cockroaches with specific characteristics of having 2 transverse dark bands on the wings. In male, wings are longer than the abdomen.

Question2: What is the difference between genus Triatoma and Rhodnius?
Answer: The genus Triatoma and the genus Rhodnius are the genus of the triatomine bugs (under the family Reduviidae and subfamily Triatominea) which can be the vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi known as the causative agent of Chagas’ disease. The morphology of both genera are quite similar, not only sharing the same type of front wings which is hemelythra (thick at base and membranous at tip) but also the same type of mouthparts which is piercing-sucking with straight proboscis. The difference between them is the position of the antennae. The antennae of the genus Triatoma arises from the side of heads at the middle between eyes and tip, whereas the antennae of the genus Rhodnius arises from the side of heads at the anterior end.

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