Desert Malaria

Professor Dr Brij Kishore Tyagi is presently serving as an Advisor to SpoRIC, VIT University, Vellore, TN, India and a tenured International Consultant for Biotech Consortium India Limited on a FAO—Sri Lanka Biosafety Project. During his highly prolific career in the Indian Council of Medical Research, spanning over 35 years, he investigated on malaria in several hyperendemic states like Odisha and Gujarat as well as the inhospitable environments of The Great Indian Thar Desert in Rajasthan. Following his emeritation from the Government of India’s ICMR-Centre for Research in Medical Entomology, Madurai as the Scientist “G” (Director) & Director in-Charge, he was first appointed as a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Biotechnology & Environmental Science, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, TN in 2015, and later as a Visiting Professor at the university in 2016. He further took up Visiting Professorship at the Department of Zoology & Environmental Sciences, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab for two years (2017-18) and was teaching PG students on medical entomology, parasitology and vector-borne diseases. He has been also serving inter alia as a Core Faculty of the DST-SERB School of Insect Biology at Hyderabad University, Hyderabad and a Guest Faculty, Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Udaipur. He was the first National Representative in-Charge in India for the International Odonatological Society (1981-1990), and a member in-Charge in South Asia for the Odonata Specialist Group of Species Survival Commission (IUCN) (1985-1995). He is Chief Editor of Journal of Medical Arthropodology & Public Health and editor or member of Editorial/Referee Boards for several international and national journals. He was the Chairman of the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) of the Department of Biotechnology for the On-Site Inspection Committee for RCT with GM Aedes aegypti at MAHYCO, Jalna, Maharashtra, and an expert member ofthe Performance Evaluation Team for the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme in 2008 and 2013. He is an expert member on various research committees of ICMR, DRDO, DST, DBT-RCGM etc. He is a Fellow of Royal Entomological Society (London), Indian Society of Malaria & Other Communicable Diseases and Society of Medical Arthropodology, and a Member of over a dozen international and national societies. Currently, he is President of (i) the Society of Medical Arthropodology, (ii) the Jodhpur Natural History Society, and (iii) the Indian Dragonfly Society. He won WHO-Tropical Disease Research’s  First Prize in a worldwide competition (1995) and Indian Council of Medical Research’s prestigious Dr. M.O.T. Iyengar Memorial Award (2007), besides Bharat Jyoti Award (2013), Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Arthropodology (DRL Tezpur-CMA, 2013), Bharat Ratna Mother Teresa Gold Medal Award (2015), Bharat Shiksha Ratan Award (2015) etc.         Dr. Tyagi has published over 640 scientific articles, and 37 books, including the WHO (2015) training manual, “Biosafety for human health and the environment in the context of the potential use of genetically modified mosquitoes (GMMs): A tool for biosafety training based on courses in Africa, Asia and Latin America, 2008–2011”. He also holds a patent for a ‘mechanical mosquito sampler’ (Indian Patent # 191635) and transferred two technologies to the Health Department, Tamil Nadu in 2010 1nd 2014, respectively. He is credited with the origin of science of medical arthropodology in India, and also the series of annual Medical Arthropodology conferences, commencing 2007. He has provided expert guidance for preparing the OECD’s (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) Consensus Document on the dengue/yellow fever vector mosquito, Aedes aegypti Linn. in 2018.

1 ‘Desert malaria‘: an emerging new paradigm.- 2 Global vis-à-vis desert-driven malaria.- 3 World deserts: environments and malaria potential.- 4 Desert water sources and vector adaptation.- 5 ‘Tanka’ and ’Beri’ –most crucial habitats for breeding of anopheles stephensi and emergence of “desert malaria” in the thar desert.- 6 Extensive canalization and its impact on transformation of the thar desert and malaria excerbation.- 7 Anopheline fauna and major malaria vectors of deserts.- 8 Anophelenization of the deserts.- 9 Sibling species complexes of malaria vectors in major deserts.- 10 Anopheles stephensi liston 1901:origin and chorogeography –a new hypothesis.- 11 Invasive vector species of malaria in desert environments.- 12 Epidemiology of desert malaria.- 13 Epidemics of malaria in major deserts.- 14 Urban malaria in the desert.- 15 Clinical scenario of desert malaria.- 16 Agroeconomical and eco-bio-social aspects of malaria in deserts.- 17 Vector identification and malaria diagnosis in major deserts.- 18 Malaria immunity in desert populations and development of resistance in parasites against antimalarials.- 19 Malaria and climate change 20 Trans-border migration and malaria in desert populations.- 21 Malaria management including vector control in major deserts.- 22 Inventions, innovations and discoveries in malaria in desert environments.- 23 Future implications of desert malaria in global elimination campaign.- 24 Anopheles stephensi –the first vector to show an evolutionary response to rapid climate change.- 25 Conclusion: will deserts transform into malaria hotspots tomorrow?