Cytotaxonomic Examination for Identification of <i>Anopheles</i> <i>culicifacies</i> Sibling Species in Central India

Abstract

Malaria is one of the major public health problems in tropical countries including India. The Madhya Pradesh situated in central part of India and its 8% of the total population contributes about 30% of total malaria cases, 60% of total falciparum cases and 50% of malaria deaths in the country. The major malaria vector in this state is Anopheles culicifacies . The large numbers of cases of malaria in this area are largely due to cessation of vector control activities and deterioration of health services. The vector control mainly relies on the proper identification and distribution of the vector species exists in a particular area. The Anopheles culicifacies is a complex of five morphologically indistinguishable species A, B, C, D and E. Hence the present study was designed to identify and see the distribution of Anopheles culicifacies species in certain districts of Madhya Pradesh. The An. culicifacies mosquitoes were collected from different parts of Madhya Pradesh. The collected mosquitoes were subjected to polytene chromosome preparation for viewing the difference in chromosomal patterns of An. culicifacies sibling species. Sibling species C of An. culicifacies was identified from Hoshangabad (Dhadav and Padav villages) and species D of An. culicifacies was identified from Narsinghpur (Chinki, Bhalpani, Sherpipariya and Gotegaon villages) and Khandwa (Chighdhalia and Narnada Nagar villages).