Malaria Treatment FAQ:
and then letting the mosquitoes feed on uninfected human volunteers. What possible errors are there in using the method?
and then letting the mosquitoes feed on uninfected human volunteers. What possible errors are there in using the method?
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In order to establish that the source of the infection is in the fed blood, you must also be sure that your mosquitoes were uninfected to start with.
(1) uninfected mosq + no feeding => volunteers remain uninfected
shows mosq are not infected.
(2) uninfected mosq + uninfected blood => volunteers remain uninfected.
(3) uninfected mosq + infected blood => volunteers become infected.
These (3) mosq could then be used (without any new blood feedings) going forward on uninfected volunteers and show that uninfected volunteers become infected.