Infravec2 products and services cost nothing and can significantly contribute to the AIM cost action - APPLY NOW!

Infravec2 is an international and interdisciplinary research infrastructure project funded by the European Commission Horizon 2020 Research Infrastructure Program (INFRAIA). This four year project (2017-2021), coordinated by the Institute Pasteur in Paris, France, includes 24 worldwide institutions as partners. The novelty of Infravec2 is to provide at NO-COST 1) products, 2) services, and 3) physical access to facilities (e.g., secure CL3 insectaries) for research on insect vectors of human and animal disease, including mosquitoes, sandflies and other arthropods (biting midges and ticks). The products are available for request in an online catalog.

Since the main goal of the AIM COST Action is to improve control and surveillance of invasive Aedes mosquitoes, products available through Infravec2 (more than 150) are useful to AIM COST partners and others involved in monitoring and controlling Aedes species. For instance, to name a few products, Infravec2 provides sterile Aedes species to be released in the field for population suppression, genotyping for approximately 20-30 most relevant to vector control markers which can improve knowledge of insecticide resistance and detection of pathogens, and samples of Aedes species infected with specific pathogens for validation assays.

Given that AIM COST is also organizing training courses covering various subjects on vector control, surveillance, identification, etc, Infravec2 can contribute by providing specimens, tools, and access to specific infrastructures to the course organizers so that participants can benefit from the course activities.

Moreover, since AIM COST assembles a large community of entomologists that also deal with other vectors such as ticks, Culicoides and sand flies, strong connections covering other areas of research can be establish through synergies between AIM COST and Infravec2. We are also open to suggestions from the community about new products, other useful tools or services that could be added to the Infravec2 online catalog.

We thank AIM COST for this opportunity to invite you to consult our online catalogue and submit your request, which will be evaluated normally in only 2-3 weeks! Although it sounds “too good to be true”, in fact the cost is paid by the European Union in order to provide the Infravec2 catalogue items at NO COST for worldwide users.

We are looking forward to collaborate with the AIM COST community, and to contribute to the success of AIM COST project!

To read more about Infravec2 vist the website here... or keep in touch with Infravec2 on twitter here...

A guest blog article written by Dr. Eva Veronesi, from the National Centre for Vector Entomology, Institute of Parasitology, at the University of Zurich. A key partner of both the Infravec2 project and the Aedes Invasive Mosquito cost action.