Blood meal analysis of Anopheles vectors of simian malaria based on laboratory and field studies

Nantha Kumar Jeyaprakasam,Van Lun Low,Atiporn Saeung,Sandthya Pramasivan,Jonathan Wee Kent Liew,Wan-Yusoff Wan-Sulaiman,Indra Vythilingam

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-04106-w

Abstract

Blood feeding and host-seeking behaviors of a mosquito play an imperative role in determining its vectorial capacity in transmitting pathogens. Unfortunately, limited information is available regarding blood feeding behavior of Anopheles species in Malaysia. Collection of resting Anopheles mosquitoes for blood meal analysis poses a great challenge especially for forest dwelling mosquitoes. Therefore, a laboratory-based study was conducted to evaluate the potential use of mosquitoes caught using human landing catch (HLC) for blood meal analysis, and subsequently to document blood feeding behavior of local Anopheles mosquitoes in Peninsular Malaysia. The laboratory-based experiment from this study revealed that mosquitoes caught using HLC had the potential to be used for blood meal analysis. Besides HLC, mosquitoes were also collected using manual aspirator and Mosquito Magnet. Overall, 47.4% of 321 field-caught Anopheles mosquitoes belonging to six species were positive for vertebrate host DNA in their blood meal. The most frequent blood meal source was human (45.9%) followed by wild boar (27.4%), dog (15.3%) and monkey (7.5%). Interestingly, only Anopheles cracens and Anopheles introlatus (Leucosphyrus Group) fed on monkey. This study further confirmed that members of the Leucosphyrus Group are the predominant vectors for knowlesi malaria transmission in Peninsular Malaysia mainly due to their simio-anthropophagic feeding behavior.

Highlights

Blood feeding and host-seeking behaviors of a mosquito play an imperative role in determining its vectorial capacity in transmitting pathogens
The laboratory-based experiment from this study revealed that mosquitoes caught using human landing catch (HLC) can still be used for blood meal analysis, especially when finding engorged resting mosquitoes in forested areas can be immensely challenging
The blood meal analysis from this study showed that Anopheles from the Leucosphyrus Group remained the main vector for knowlesi malaria transmission in Peninsular Malaysia mainly due to their simio-anthropophagic feeding behavior of the mosquitoes

Summary

Introduction

Blood feeding and host-seeking behaviors of a mosquito play an imperative role in determining its vectorial capacity in transmitting pathogens. A laboratory-based study was conducted to evaluate the potential use of mosquitoes caught using human landing catch (HLC) for blood meal analysis, and subsequently to document blood feeding behavior of local Anopheles mosquitoes in Peninsular Malaysia. There are several factors determining the vectorial capacity of Anopheles mosquitoes to transmit Plasmodium parasites These include extrinsic incubation period of the parasites, daily survival of the mosquito[5], gonotrophic cycle and gonotrophic discordance of the mosquito[6] as well as the essential key element—feeding and host-seeking behaviors of the m osquito[5]. Very limited information is available regarding blood-foraging behavior and host preference of Anopheles species especially from the Leucosphyrus Group which are involved in P. knowlesi transmission in Peninsular Malaysia[2].

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Discussion

Conclusion