Our new paper is now out on "Temperature-sensitive incubation, transmissibility and risk of Aedes albopictus-borne chikungunya virus in Europe". Chikungunya has a lower thermal threshold for transmission than previously thought, carrying a higher risk of outbreaks across Europe.
lnkd.in/g79PzgqJ
Two great 4y positions up for grabs with us and Ross working on his BBSRC MosquitoNI project, with collaborators in GB. Deadlines in a week (research fellow) and 2 weeks (RA). Lots of vector ecology and modelling but also looking at what viruses can we find in our 🦟!
Worrying study by my UKCEH colleagues about human disease spread facilitated by climate change
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Chikungunya poses a greater health threat in Europe than previously thought because it can be spread at air temps as low as 13°C, a new study finds.
Researchers produced a risk map showing the threat of virus transmission, spread by the Asian tiger mosquito.
www.ceh.ac.uk/press/debili...
1/🧪
Thank you to Chris Smith & the The Naked Scientists team for inviting me & other colleagues to take part in this podcast discussing #mosquitoes, their biology and behaviour, role in disease transmission & innovative strategies for #vector control
www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/nak...
Photo of 4 people standing in front of a presentation screen in a meeting room at Public Health Scotland. On the left side, Prof Calum Semple, Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland, Prof Heather Ferguson, University of Glasgow, and on the right side Prof Dom Mellor and Dr Jim McMenamin, Public Health Scotland. The screen has the title slide from the Mosquito Scotland presentation; reading "Investigating the risk of mosquito vector-borne diseases in Scotland and their response to environmental change"
Pleasure to visit Public Health Scotland & present results from @mosquitoscotland.bsky.social to Prof Calum Semple, Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland, Prof Jim McMenamin & Prof Dominic Mellor. Great opportunity to discuss future #mosquito-borne disease risk in Scotland
@sbohvm.gla.ac.uk
Figure 2 from pre-print by Georgia Kirby et al, BioxRiV , 2026 - Presenting results on the aistribution and associated wetland habitats of the most abundant adult mosquito species. On the left of figure is Panel A. A mao showing the distribution of adult-stage species throughout mainland Scotland. Trap sites within a 10-mile radius are aggregated. Panel B. Allocation of common adult-stage species by wetland type. Ribbon width indicates abundance.
Happy to share new preprint led by Dr Georgia Kirby, with results from survey of #mosquitoes across Scotland
➡️ Mosquitoes were common & widely distributed
➡️ 16 different species, including some known vectors of historical malaria and emerging arboviruses
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Really looking forward to this - a great opportunity to present new findings from our @mosquitoscotland.bsky.social and hear about the latest developments in vector-borne disease research in the UK. Please share 🦟
Gareth Jenkins, CEO Malaria No More UK, stands at a lectern giving a speech for World Malaria Report at UK House of Commons
5 malaria researchers standing together in the hall of the UK House of Commons after attending World Malaria Report Reception. Left to Right - Prof Jackie Cook, LSHTM, Prof Teun Bousema Radboud University, Dr Kevin Tetteh FIND, Prof Chris Drakeley LSHTM, Prof Heather Ferguson University of Glasgow. There is a large painting on the wall behind them, showing a battle scene.
Dr Lauren Sullivan, Chair of All Parliamentary Group on Malaria and NTDs, stands at a lectern giving a speech for World Malaria Report at UK House of Commons
Right Honourable Sabah Zita Benson, Ghanaian High Commissioner to the UK, Gareth Jenkins, stands at a lectern giving a speech for World Malaria Report at UK House
Thx to @laurensullivanmp.bsky.social & @malarianomoreuk.bsky.social for hosting World #Malaria Report Reception at House of Commons yesterday.
Great speeches by Sabah Zita Benson, Gareth Jenkins & others - reminding #malaria community of the need to keep pushing to #EndMalaria despite challenges
This mosquito looks like Culiseta annulata - a very common species that is native to the UK, and widespread across Europe and North Africa. It can be a source of nuisance biting on people.
Excellent - many thanks for sharing @stoviesplz.bsky.social Definietely a mosquito. It is not uncommon to find a few inside houses at this time of year, when they move in to avoid cold weather. Roughly what area of Scotland are you in?
Photo of Professor Dominic Mellor from Public Health Scotland standing in front of a screen with a slide reading "Scottish Health Protection Network - Vector-borne disease subgroup, Workshop, Nov 4th 2025". Photo taken while he was delivering opening remarks to the workshop
Photo of 5 participants at the Scottish Health Protection Network's Vector-borne diseases workshop; taken at the workshop on Nov 4th. Standing left to right - Dr Georgia Kirby (University of Glasgow), Prof Heather Ferguson (University of Glasgow), Dr Jolyon Medlock (UK Health Security Agency), Dr Caroline Robinson (Scottish Rural University College), Dr Chris Redman (Public Health Scotland)
Pleasure to participate in 1st in-person meeting of the Scottish Health Protection Network's committee on #Vector-borne diseases last week.
Great to meet with colleagues to brainstorm what the future of #vector-borne disease surveillance in Scotland should look like.
#Ticks
#Midges
#Mosquitoes
🚨 Funding opportunity!
GLOPID-R & EDCTP launch a call to accelerate clinical trial site readiness in LMICs 🧪🌍
💰 €100k–€500k | ⏱️ Up to 24 months
👥 Consortium: 2–4 orgs incl. at least 1 LMIC partner
📅 Deadline: 14 Nov
🔗 shorturl.at/bK9tZ
In response to the @theguardian.com editorial on the uptick in malaria due to #globalhealth funding cuts, I write how this also foreshadwos what’s ahead for a lower-profile but similarly devastating group of pathogens – the neglected tropical diseases.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Screen shot of the 1st page of news article in British Medical Journal, Oct 31st 2025, with title "Are deadly mosquitoes, pathogen laden ticks, and waterborne infections being brought to the UK by climate change?" Article has interview with Heather Ferguson and other scientists discussing risk of vector-borne disease in the UK under climate change.
Is #climatechange increasing the risk of vector-borne diseases in the UK?
My comments #BMJ
⬇️
www.bmj.com/content/391/...
Short answer - yes! But rather than focussing just on tropical pathogens & vectors moving north, most imminent risk may be increased transmission capacity in native vectors
🦟 #Mosquitoes arrive in #Iceland 🇮🇸
"Three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes were found in Kjós in recent days. This has been confirmed by the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. It is the first time that mosquitoes have been discovered on Icelandic soil."
www.ruv.is/english/2025...
Close up picture of a plastic tube with a single Culex pipiens mosquito caught inside it. It has a brownish body, six legs, and a long needle-like proboscis on its head
Moving into Oct with temperatures & daylight hours falling in Scotland, the "peak" mosquito activity season is passing. However, some species like Culex pipiens can still be found 'overwintering'; like this one our team found on #Arran yesterday. Let us know if you see any
⬇️
mosquito-scotland.com
Great work by @ukhsa.bsky.social team on 4 yrs of invasive #mosquito surveillance in UK. Sporadic detection of Aedes albopictus on transport routes in England & one-off detection of aegypti at Heathrow don't confirm establishment, but show value of surveillance
journals.plos.org/globalpublic...
🌊The Scottish Government is currently consulting on a draft Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan.
Informal drop-in events are being held across Scotland, where you can learn about the plan, and marine and coastal restoration in Scotland.
Details below 👇
#Marine #Coastal #Scotland
Temperatures may be starting to drop in Scotland, but there are still some mosuqitoes buzzing around in Glasgow. And from the looks of this female, some are ready to lay more eggs. Matches what we see in our monitoring of larval habitats.et Let us know if u see mossies at mosquito-scotland.com
Four people standing in front of the main entrance of the Graham Kerr Zoology builidng at the University of Glasgow, all members of the Mosquito Scotland Project team. Left to right - Meshach Lee, Heather Ferguson, Saad Naqvi and Georgia Kirby
Yesterday we said goodbye to Saad Naqvi - our fantastic summer intern who joined us from the The University of Texas at Dallas. Great to have you on the team this summer, thanks for all your hard work in the field and lab to help us understandthe ecology of potential mosquitos in Scotland.
Great news from @who.int
Congratulations Surinam on being certified as malaria-free
www.who.int/news/item/30...
The #mosquito season is truly underway in these celtic lands. We're seeing an uptick in Scotland, and #Mosquito Northern Ireland friends Ryan Carmichael & @rosscuthbert.bsky.social got these in a trap in #Armagh today.
You can report mosquito sightings in Scotland -
www.mosquito-scotland.com
Image shows an outline of the globe in red tint, with a red pulse line running across it and the logo of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh above it. Text below gives details of the 'Environment and One Health' webinar that will be held on July 8th, with details of how to register
Looking forward to participating in this webinar organized by the @rcpedin.bsky.social next month, focusing on #OneHealth and the #Environment.
I'll discuss our work on impacts of #climatechange on #vector-borne diseases
@mosquitoscotland.bsky.social
@sbohvm.gla.ac.uk
Details for registration 🔽
Another mosquito species moving northwards, possibly due to climate
I urge everyone to read Unbreaking’s new page on everything the govt is doing to destroy & diminish medical research funding.
It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.
unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
Thx to @theguardian.com for this article & interview on implications of finding #WestNileVirus in UK #mosquitoes. As I say,
#1 priority for govt to protect UK citizens long-term is to invest in control in the countries where they the overwhelming burden & death
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
📢Breaking news - @ukhsa.bsky.social confirms 1st detection of #WestNileVirus particles in mosquitoes in the UK. This is a zoonotic virus that usually spreads in birds, but very occasionally infects people. Risk to UK public is extremely low, no detection in Scotland yet
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Lack of Vector Competence in UK Culex pipiens molestus for Oropouche Virus https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.07.652619v1
Photo of shallow river/marsh (a few meters across) surround by tall grass (knee height), with taller trees on the horizon. In front right, you can see Queens University Belfast PhD student Ryan Carmichael (side profie, from waist up) and University of Glasgow Researcher Dr Georgia Kirby (back) looking at the water to check for larvae. Both are dressed for field work; Ryan is holding a notebook and has a backpack. There is a blue sky with light cloud, weather is very sunny.
Fantastic weather in Belfast this week as Dr Georgia Kirby from #MosquitoScotland visits our collaborator and #QueensUniversityBelfast PhD student Ryan Carmichael to kick off collaboration on mosquitoes.
#MosquitoScotland 💔#MosquitoNorthernIreland 🦟
@rosscuthbert.bsky.social
@sbohvm.gla.ac.uk
