1Dengue fever, Zika virus disease, chikungunya: 10 years ago, these diseases were unknown to the general public.  Now that our cities have been taken over by tiger mosquitoes, these viruses with exotic names that were believed to be confined to tropical regions have moved towards temperate areas. Not so much because of climate change, but rather because of globalisation which, in step with the carriage of passengers and goods, has allowed diseases and the eggs of African and Asian disease-carrying mosquitoes to spread. As a result, these diseases and vectors, long forgotten in the northern hemisphere but known and studied in the Global South by IRD researchers and their partners, now pose a global health threat. The mobilisation of researchers from the Global North and South, learning from each other’s experience and expertise, is an innovative solution for the sustainable management of this now global vector risk.

Tsetse fly (Glossina sp.), vector for sleeping sickness in Africa, marked with fluorescent powder.

2Research and training needs are commensurate with the challenge ahead. This is why IRD and the Occitanie region invested more than EUR 2.5 million in the construction of the Vectopôle, a unique platform in Europe, consisting of 350 square metres of contained laboratories, where researchers can safely work on biting insects, whether or not they have been infected with a virus, bacteria or parasite. They investigate the behaviour of insects, their ability to transmit various infectious agents and changes in insecticide resistance.

Joint Vectopôle laboratory in Montpellier, maximum containment (I3) for studying vector-pathogen interactions.

••• A platform for research and training •••

3Operational since 2015, the Vectopôle has become the cornerstone of a network of Montpellier insectaries where research extends to animal disease vectors and crop pests. The consortium called Vectopôle Sud coordinates research involving major human, animal and environmental health issues, which affect the environments of the Global North as well as South. This holistic health approach will create links between different sources of knowledge which up until now were too thematically and geographically compartmentalised.

4Vectopôle Sud consortium website: http://www.vectopole-sud.fr/

“The Pasteur Institute of Bangui, in close cooperation with the IRD team, undertakes research projects on arbovirus and malaria vectors, some of which require access to IRD’s Vectopôle platform. For the three theses (2012 to 2019) in medical entomology completed within the IPB, some of the research was conducted as part of this platform.” 
Dr Carine Ngoagouni, Pasteur Institute of Bangui, Central African Republic