Diversity of malaria in rice growing areas of the Afrotropical region.

ABSTRACT

It is well known that 'in many instances the rice agrosystem perfectly fits the ecological requirements of pathogens or vectors' and in fact 'malaria, schistosomiasis and Japanese encephalitis are important vector-borne diseases associated with rice production in developing countries' (IRRI, 1987). In spite of these fears, rice cultivation has been on the increase in the African region in response to demographic and economic pressures. However, although rice fields provide suitable breeding places for Anopheles mosquitoes and rice cultivation leads to an increase in the biting rates, the species which are adapted to these sites are not the same in all parts of Africa. Several examples illustrate this phenomenon An. funestus in the rice fields of Madagascar, An. pharoensis in saline water rice fields in the delta of the Senegal river, An. arabiensis in northern Cameroon and Burundi, An. gambiae Mopti form in the Kou Valley (Burkina Faso) and An. gambiae Savanna form in the rice fields of Kafine near Bouaké (Côte d'Ivoire). The vectorial capacities of these species are not the same and malaria inoculation rates are not necessarily increased in the riceland agroecosystem. The consequences for malaria of introducing rice cultivation depend on the situation before its introduction: it could be worsened in unstable malaria areas but not in stable malaria areas. Therefore, sound epidemiological and entomological knowledge are needed before causing any environmental modifications for agricultural purposes and there should be regular monitoring to avoid any outbreak.