The role of four anopheline species (Diptera: Culicidae) in malaria transmission in coastal Tanzania

E. A. Temu, J. N. Minjas, M. Coetzee, R. H. Hunt, C. J. Shiff

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

50 Scopus citations

Abstract

Malaria is holoendemic in coastal Tanzania with Anopheles funestus and members of the A. gambiae complex being mainly responsible for transmission. Over a 4 months' sampling period 2222 anopheline mosquitoes were collected using light-traps and indoor resting catches, of which 58.6% were: A. gambiae, 7.6% A. arabiensis, 6.9% A. merus and 26.9% A. funestus. Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite antigen (CSA) rates were: A. funestus 6.05% (n = 479), A.gambiae 8.4% (n = 1042), A. arabiensis 7.3% (n = 136) and A. merus 9.8% (n = 122). The P. malariae CSA rate for all anophelines was 0.07% (n = 1862). Estimated sporozoite densities were less than 2000 for at least 50% of all the positive mosquitoes. Along the coast the abundance of A. merus (41.3%) and A. gambiae (46.1%) was similar, and their CSA rates were comparable (11.6% and 12.5%, respectively) and higher than those for A. arabiensis (7.7%) and A. funestus (4.6%). These results indicate that A. merus plays an unexpectedly important role in malaria transmission in coastal Tanzania.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)152-158
Number of pages7
JournalTransactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume92
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1998
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Anopheles arabiensis
  • Anopheles funestus
  • Anopheles gambiae
  • Anopheles merus
  • Malaria
  • Plasmodium falciparum
  • Plasmodium malariae
  • Sporozoite density
  • Sporozoite rates
  • Tanzania

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Parasitology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Infectious Diseases

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