ANTICOAGULANTS IN VECTOR ARTHROPODS

Arthropod-borne diseases cause significant morbidity, and mortality wo rldwide. Mosquitoes alone may account for as many as three million dea ths annually via the transmission of malaria. Because these diseases a ve transmitted to humans and to other vertebrates as a result of the a bility of arthropods to feed on blood, the study of the biochemical me chanisms and adaptations that arthropods have evolved to facilitate he matophagy may provide insight into how this feeding behavior contribut es to the transmission of disease. In this review, Kenneth Stark and A nthony James examine the diversity of arthropod anticoagulants and the ir role in hematophagy and potential implications for parasite transmi ssion.