Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (2006) 101, 617-623

Martha L. Quiñones, Freddy Ruiz, David A. Calle, Ralph E. Harbach, Holmes F. Erazo and Yvonne-Marie Linton (2006)
Incrimination of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) rangeli and An. (Nys.) oswaldoi as natural vectors of Plasmodium vivax in Southern Colombia
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 101 (6), 617-623
Abstract: Malaria transmission in the Southern Colombian state of Putumayo continues despite the absence of traditional vector species, except for the presence of Anopheles darlingi near the southeastern border with the state of Amazonas. In order to facilitate malaria vector incrimination in Putumayo, 2445 morphologically identified Anopheles females were tested for natural infection of Plasmodium vivax by ELISA. Specimens tested included An. apicimacula (n = 2), An. benarrochi B (n = 1617), An. darlingi (n = 29), An. mattogrossensis (n = 7), An. neomaculipalpus (n = 7), An. oswaldoi (n = 362), An. peryassui (n = 1), An. punctimacula (n = 1), An. rangeli (n = 413), and An. triannulatus (n = 6). Despite being overwhelmingly the most anthropophilic species in the region and comprising 66.1% of the mosquitoes tested, An. benarrochi B was not shown to be a vector. Thirty-five An. rangeli and one An. oswaldoi were naturally infected with P. vivax VK210. Sequence data were generated for the nuclear second internal transcriber space region of 31 of these 36 vivax positive mosquitoes (86.1%) to confirm their morphological identification. An. oswaldoi is known to be a species complex in Latin America, but its internal taxonomy remains unresolved. Herein we show that the An. oswaldoi found in the state of Putumayo is genetically similar to specimens from the state of Amapá in Brazil and from the Ocama region in the state of Amazonas in Venezuela, and that this form harbors natural infections of P. vivax. That An. rangeli and this member of the An. oswaldoi complex are incriminated as malaria vectors in Putumayo, is a novel finding of significance for malaria control in Southern Colombia, and possibly in other areas of Latin America.
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Database assignments for author(s): Ralph E. Harbach, Yvonne-Marie Linton

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Anopheles triannulatus		Colombia
	Anopheles oswaldoi		Colombia
	Anopheles rangeli		Colombia
	Anopheles apicimacula		Colombia
	Anopheles punctimacula		Colombia
	Anopheles benarrochi		Colombia
	Anopheles neomaculipalpus		Colombia
	Anopheles mattogrossensis		Colombia
	Anopheles peryassui		Colombia