African Entomology (2003) 11, 227-232

T.S. Awolola, K. Ibrahim, T. Okorie, L.L. Koekemoer, R.H. Hunt and M. Coetzee (2003)
Species composition and biting activities of anthropophilic Anopheles mosquitoes and their role in malaria transmission in a holo-endemic area of southwestern Nigeria
African Entomology 11 (2), 227-232
Abstract: The species composition of indoor and outdoor human-biting Anopheles mosquitoes and their relative contribution to Plasmodium falciparum transmission were determined for two communities in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria where little or no data were available. Mosquitoes attracted to humans at night were caught in August, September and October 2000, coinciding with the peak malaria period in these areas. A total of 2176 Anopheles mosquitoes were collected, of which An. gambiae s.l. was predominant followed by An. funestus and An. hancocki. The results of PCR-based tests identified 58.8 % of the An. gambiae s.l. as An. gambiae s.s., and 41.2% as An. arabiensis. The molecular (M and S) forms of An. gambiae s.s. were found in the ratio 1:3, respectively. A cocktail PCR-assay differentiated 65.6% of the An. funestus group as An. funestus s.s., and 34.4% as An. rivulorum. Outdoor biting mosquito numbers were significantly higher (P < 0.001) than that observed indoors. Peak indoor and outdoor biting activities of An. gambiae s.s. occurred at 01:00 and 24:00, respectively. The biting activities of An. funestus s.s. both indoors and outdoors attained a peak at 23h00 while An. arabiensis and An. rivulorum were more exophagic. The results of ELISA-based analyses indicated that An. gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis and An. funestus s.s. serve as vectors in the area with an overall P. falciparum sporozoite infection rate of 5.6 %, 4.0% and 4.3 %, respectively. Both An. rivulorum and An. hancocki tested negative. The combined contribution of these mosquito species to malaria transmission in the study area highlights the inappropriateness of vector control strategies aimed at only one vector species.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Maureen Coetzee, Lizette L. Koekemoer

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Anopheles gambiae		Nigeria
	Anopheles arabiensis		Nigeria
	Anopheles funestus		Nigeria
	Anopheles rivulorum		Nigeria
	Anopheles hancocki		Nigeria