I lead a diverse group of health practitioners and research scientists whose collective goal is to prevent vector-borne disease, especially dengue, in north Queensland.

We have received two NHMRC grants to develop green “Lure and Kill” dengue control programs for North Queensland.  I have been a principal investigator in the Eliminate Dengue program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation since its inception in 2005. This innovative project utilises the bacterium Wolbachia to prevent the dengue vector Aedes aegypti from transmitting dengue viruses.  This partnership has already developed a molecular method to estimate the age of individual mosquitoes, and demonstrated that the parasite can effectively work in the laboratory and in semi-field cages. We are currently evaluating open field releases of Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in Cairns. 

I am also involved in new projects studying the potential impact of global warming on dengue in Australia, new pesticides for the control of Ae. aegypti and the development of novel mosquito traps for the detection of pathogens in mosquitoes and other disease vectors.

I was employed as Director, Medical Entomology at the Tropical Regional Services (formerly Tropical Public Health Unit), the preventative health arm of Queensland Health in North Queensland, from 1994-2011.  There I have helped develop the world recognised Dengue Fever Management Plan for North Queensland. 

Research Disciplines

• Epidemiology (4202)
• Health services and systems (4203)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Public health (2004)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Wimalasiri-Yapa B, Huang B, Ross P, Hoffmann A, Ritchie S, Frentiu F, Warrilow D and van den Hurk A (2023) Differences in gene expression in field populations of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with varying release histories in northern Australia. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 17 (3).
• Kurucz N, Mcmahon J, Warchot A, Hewitson G, Barcelon J, Moore F, Moran J, Harrison J, Colmant A, Staunton K, Ritchie S, Townsend M, Meyer Steiger D, Hall R, Isberg S and Hall-Mendelin S (2022) Nucleic Acid Preservation Card Surveillance Is Effective for Monitoring Arbovirus Transmission on Crocodile Farms and Provides a One Health Benefit to Northern Australia. Viruses, 14 (6).
• Ross P, Robinson K, Yang Q, Callahan A, Schmidt T, Axford J, Coquilleau M, Staunton K, Townsend M, Ritchie S, Lau M, Gu X and Hoffmann A (2022) A decade of stability for wMel Wolbachia in natural Aedes aegypti populations. PLoS Pathogens, 18 (2).
• Swan T, Russell T, Staunton K, Field M, Ritchie S and Burkot T (2022) A literature review of dispersal pathways of Aedes albopictus across different spatial scales: implications for vector surveillance. Parasites & Vectors, 15 (1).
• van den Hurk A, Skinner E, Ritchie S and Mackenzie J (2022) The Emergence of Japanese Encephalitis Virus in Australia in 2022: Existing Knowledge of Mosquito Vectors. Viruses, 14 (6).
• Beebe N, Pagendam D, Trewin B, Boomer A, Bradford M, Ford A, Liddington C, Bondarenco A, De Barro P, Gilchrist J, Paton C, Staunton K, Johnson B, Maynard A, Devine G, Hugo L, Rasic G, Cook H, Massaro P, Snoad N, Crawford J, White B, Xi Z and Ritchie S (2021) Releasing incompatible males drives strong suppression across populations of wild and Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti in Australia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118 (41).
• Devine G, Vazquez-Prokopec G, Bibiano-Marín W, Pavia-Ruz N, Che-Mendoza A, Medina-Barreiro A, Villegas J, Gonzalez-Olvera G, Dunbar M, Ong O, Ritchie S, Churcher T, Kirstein O and Manrique-Saide P (2021) The entomological impact of passive metofluthrin emanators against indoor aedes aegypti: a randomized field trial. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 15 (1).
• McLean B, Hall-Mendelin S, Webb C, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H, Ritchie S, Hobson-Peters J, Hall R and van den Hurk A (2021) The Insect-Specific Parramatta River Virus Is Vertically Transmitted by Aedes vigilax Mosquitoes and Suppresses Replication of Pathogenic Flaviviruses in Vitro. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 21 (3). pp. 208-215
• Schmidt T, Swan T, Chung J, Karl S, Demok S, Yang Q, Field M, Muzari M, Ehlers G, Brugh M, Bellwood R, Horne P, Burkot T, Ritchie S and Hoffmann A (2021) Spatial population genomics of a recent mosquito invasion. Molecular Ecology, 30 (5). pp. 1174-1189
• Staunton K, Leiva D, Cruz A, Goi J, Aristqueta C, Liu J, Desnoyer M, Howell P, Espinosa F, Che Mendoza A, Karl S, Crawford J, Xiang W, Manrique-Saide P, Achee N, Grieco J, Ritchie S, Burkot T and Snoad N (2021) Outcomes from international field trials with Male Aedes Sound Traps: frequency-dependent effectiveness in capturing target species in relation to bycatch abundance. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 15 (2).
• Staunton K, Liu J, Townsend M, Desnoyer M, Howell P, Crawford J, Xiang W, Snoad N, Burkot T and Ritchie S (2021) Designing Aedes mosquito traps: the evolution of the male Aedes sound trap by iterative evaluation insects. Insects, 12 (5).
• Staunton K, Goi J, Townsend M, Ritchie S, Crawford J, Snoad N, Karl S and Burkot T (2021) Effect of BG-Lures on the Male Aedes (Diptera: Culicidae) Sound Trap capture rates. Journal of Medical Entomology, 58 (6). pp. 2425-2431

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 203+ research outputs authored by Prof Scott Ritchie from 1998 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Survey of Dengue Fever Vectors and its Serotype Viruses in Solomon Islands (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)

Completed

• When worlds collide: where and when anophelines and humans interact (2020, PhD , Secondary Advisor/AM)
• Using mosquito excreta to enhance mosquito-borne disease surveillance (2019, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Ecology and population genomics of Aedes albopictus in the Torres Strait, Australia (2022, PhD , Secondary Advisor/AM)

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit Research Data Australia.

• Swan, T. (2020) Dataset for: The effect of sound lure frequency and habitat type on male Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) capture rates with the Male Aedes Sound Trap. James Cook University
• Ramirez Lopez, A. (2019) Dataset describing the detection of Plasmodium falciparum in mosquito excreta and saliva. James Cook University
• Ramirez Lopez, A. (2019) Dataset describing stability of WNV RNA in mosquito excreta. James Cook University
• Ramirez Lopez, A. (2019) Dataset describing detection or RRV and WNV in mosquito excreta. James Cook University
• McLaughlin, K. (2019) Dataset describing the longitudinal density and wing length of anophelines in Solomon Islands. James Cook University

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.