Detection of Plasmodium in Anopheles spp (Diptera: Nematocera: Culicidae) using molecular biology techniques: a systematic review

Abstract

This study aims to find evidence of the effectiveness of molecular biology techniques in detecting Plasmodium in Anopheles spp mosquitoes. This systematic review was based on the PRISMA 2020 protocol. It was carried out in five electronic databases (LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, and Web of Science, with published studies in health and interdisciplinary areas) in addition to complementary research on Google Scholar. Studies that used molecular biology techniques to detect and evaluate Plasmodium in anopheles (the results of which determined the type of Plasmodium in the samples) were included in this review. In total, 484 recent studies were retrieved from the electronic databases. According to the inclusion/exclusion criteria, only 12 studies met the objectives of this systematic review. Molecular biology was used in mosquitoes to determine parasitic species in all studies. Despite the difficulties and challenges in using molecular biology in mosquitoes, the obtained scientific advances show the accuracy and reliability of the results, contributing to an effective epidemiological response and monitoring of the spread of Plasmodium in endemic areas.