Biography

My postgraduate studies at Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 are where my passion for medical entomology began through completion of a doctorate in African horse sickness virus. I went on to join the Centre for Viral Zoonoses (CVZ), 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 of Pretoria, (2017) to work on mosquito-borne viruses (particular focus on Culex vectors) in southern Africa as a postdoctoral researcher. Following this, my passion for medical entomology, with, particular focus on mosquito-borne disease, grew when I joined the UP ISMC in 2019, as a senior researcher and then as a lecturer and the Vector Cluster chairperson (2022). I returned to Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 in 2024 as a lecturer and hope to continue to pursue research in vector ecology, phylogeny and disease detection in high burden regions, aiming to assist in vector-borne disease understanding and control.

Research Interests:

Medical and Veterinary Entomology, Vector ecology and Control, Epidemiology, One Health.

Teaching Focus

Medical and Veterinary Entomology

Insect Diversity

Vector Control and Epidemiology

Postgraduate Supervision:

Current students:

Kondwani Kachali (M.Sc.): Malaria entomology and insecticide resistance in a high disease burden region of South Africa.

Arlin Viljoen (M.Sc.): The impact of artificial light spectra and intensity on the feeding behaviour of Anopheles gambiae.

Monique Shanahan (PhD): Biological, environmental and human-related drivers of malaria in the eastern Vhembe District, Limpopo Province.

Past students:

Graça Salomé (PhD): Vector biting behaviour, community malaria infection risk and a pilot field trials on repellent footwear in southern Mozambique.

Recent publications

For a comprehensive list see google scholar:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Tv-VE5YAAAAJ&hl=en

Guarido MM, Riddin MA, Johnson T, Braack L, Schrama M, Gorsich EE, Brooke BD, Almeida APG, Venter M.(2021). Aedes species (Diptera: Culicidae) ecological and host feeding patterns in the north-eastern parts of South Africa. Parasites and Vectors. 14: 339.

Guarido MM, Govender K, Riddin MA, Scharama M, Gorsich EE, Brooke BD, Almeida APG,  Venter, M. (2021). Detection of insect-specific flaviviruses in Culicidae mosquitoes in north-eastern regions of South Africa. Viruses. 13(11): 2148.

Guarido MM, Motlou T, Riddin MA, MacIntire C, Manyana S, Johnson T, Scharama M, Gorsich E, Brooke B, Almeida APG, Venter M. (2021). Potential Mosquito Vectors for Shuni Virus, South Africa, 2014–2018. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 27(12): 3142-3146.

Coetzee BWT, Koekemoer L, Riddin MA, Kruger T, Smit IPJ. (2022). Artificial light as a modulator of mosquito-borne disease risk. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 9: 768090.

Guarido MM, Fourie I, Riddin MA, MacIntyre C, Manyana S, Johnson T, Schrama M, Gorsich EE, Brooke BD, Almeida APG, Venter M. (2023). Alphaviruses detected in mosquitoes in the north-eastern regions of South Africa, 2014 to 2018. Viruses. 15(2): 414. 

MacIntyre C, Milehna MG, Riddin MA, Johnson T, Braack L, Schrama M, Gorsich E, Gouveia Almeida AP, & Venter M. (2023). Survey of West Nile and Banzi Viruses in Mosquitoes, South Africa, 2011–2018. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 29(1): 164-169.

Salomé G, Riddin MA, BraacK L. (2023). Species Composition, Seasonal Abundance, and Biting Behavior of Malaria Vectors in Rural Conhane Village, Southern Mozambique. International Journal of Environmental and Public Health. 20(4): 3597.

Dieng S, Adebayo-Ojo TC, Kruger T, Riddin MA, Trehard H, Tumelero S, Bendiane MK, de Jager C, Patrick S, Bornman R, Gaudart J. (2023). Geo-epidemiology of malaria incidence in the Vhembe District to guide targeted elimination strategies, South-Africa, 2015-2018: a local resurgence. Scientific Reports. 13: 11049.

Patrick SM, Bendiane M, Kruger T, Harris B, Riddin MA, Trehard H, de Jager C, Bornman R, Guadart J. (2023). Household living conditions and individual behaviors associated with malaria risk: a community-based survey in the Limpopo River Valley, 2020, South Africa. Malaria Journal. 22: 156 (2023).