# Expanding xenosurveillance capabilities in central America

> **NIH NIH R21** · COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $237,707

## Abstract

This proposal is for an R21, Expanding xenosurveillance capabilities in Central America. The project is a highly
multidisciplinary effort that includes collaborators with expertise in virology, public health entomology,
surveillance, and human clinical and veterinary medicine. Our study is based on the idea that mosquitoes can
serve as surveillance tools because they are essentially autonomous blood sampling devices. Freshly fed
mosquitoes are collected from within dwellings and blood is used for surveillance purposes. If successful, our
work would have the impact of simplifying certain types of surveillance that require human blood because
although most people hate it when they and their children are stuck with needles, they don’t seem to mind
mosquitoes being removed from within their homes. In addition, our approach has the potential to make
sampling from animals safer by vastly reducing the need for direct contact with fearful and angry animals that
bite, kick, etc..
Aim 1 focuses on validating xenosurveillance through a direct comparison to human-based syndromic
surveillance. Aim 2 is designed to maintain the scientific rigor of our work by obtaining quantitative estimates of
the sensitivity of Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti for xenosurveillance.
This proposal leverages significant prior work on xenosurveillance that has focused on An. gambiae in W.
Africa, and an ongoing pilot study of xenosurveillance in rural Guatemala.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10041581
- **Project number:** 1R21AI154011-01
- **Recipient organization:** COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Gregory David Ebel
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $237,707
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-06-11 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10041581

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10041581, Expanding xenosurveillance capabilities in central America (1R21AI154011-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10041581. Licensed CC0.

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