At the Institut Pasteur, a new insectarium for arbovirus mosquito vectors

The Institut Pasteur in Paris has opened a vast new insectarium for rearing mosquitoes with the potential to transmit arboviruses – viruses transmitted between vertebrates via a bite from a hematophagous vector. By rearing large quantities of mosquitoes in controlled conditions at this new facility, scientists will be better equipped to tackle future challenges associated with emerging vector-borne diseases. (…) "With this facility, we can reproduce the living conditions of mosquitoes as closely as possible, creating the same temperatures, photoperiod and humidity as in the field. It will also give us the opportunity to rear more sensitive mosquitoes that require specific conditions. By working with mosquitoes that have been reared in conditions close to those in nature, we hope to be in a better position to elucidate the factors leading to the emergence of the arboviruses for which they are vectors," explains Anna-Bella Failloux, who leads the Arboviruses and Insect Vectors Units in the Institut Pasteur's Virology Department.

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