Species composition of the Anopheles gambiae complex across eco-vegetational zones in Bayelsa State, Niger Delta region, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Correct vector identification is an important task in the planning and implementation of malaria vector control programmes. This study was designed to provide baseline information on the species composition and distribution of members of the Anopheles gambiae complex in three eco-vegetational zones in Bayelsa state, Nigeria. METHODS: Adult mosquitoes were collected by pyrethrum spray catch (PSC) in randomly selected houses during September 2009-August 2010. Anopheles mosquitoes were identified using standard morphological keys. Mosquitoes identified as An. gambiae s.l. were used for species specific PCR-assays. RESULTS: Out of 203 Anopheles gambiae s.l. successfully amplified, 180 (88.7%) were Anopheles gambiae s.s., 14 (6.9%) were An. melas and 9 (4.4%) were An. arabiensis. The variation in the sibling species composition of An. gambiae s.l. was not significant (p >0.05). Anopheles gambiae s.s. was predominant in all the collections with three sibling species occurring in all the eco-vegetational zones. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The observation of An. melas in the fresh water swamp forest of Yenagoa is of importance in malaria epidemiology. These findings are of importance in the planning and implementation of malaria vector control strategy in the three eco-vegetational zones of Bayelsa state.

Entomological indices of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato at a rural community in south-west Nigeria.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Investigations were conducted to obtain key entomological indices of Anopheles gambiae s.l. at Igbo-Ora, a rural community in south-west Nigeria. METHODS: Mosquitoes were caught daily for a week from rooms where tenants had slept the previous night in each of the four months June, July (2001), and August, September (2002). Anopheles gambiae s.l. sibling species were PCR-identified, the blood meal origin was determined by direct ELISA, and the circumsporozoite antigen by sandwich ELISA. Mean weekly rates were calculated. RESULTS: The mean human biting rates were 0.90 and 1.6 in 2001 and 2002 respectively. The mean weekly anthropophilic rates for An. gambiae s.l. were 82 and 86% in 2001 and 2002 respectively; they were high in An. gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis and non-identified species in the complex. The mean weekly circumsporozoite rates were 6.70% in 2001 and 6.30% in 2002. The mean weekly entomological inoculation rates (EIR) were 4.95 and 5.05 in 2001 and 2002 respectively; the seasonal (6-month) rates were high: 128.7 in 2001 and 131.3 in 2002, compared to data from other rural communities on the continent. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The implications of these findings on the role of An. gambiae s.l. in the holoendemicity of malaria at Igbo-Ora are discussed.