Abstract
BackgroundStudies were conducted between April 2004 and February 2006 to determine the blood-feeding pattern of Anopheles mosquitoes in Mwea Kenya.MethodsSamples were collected indoors by pyrethrum spay catch and outdoors by Centers for Disease Control light traps and processed for blood meal analysis by an Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay.ResultsA total of 3,333 blood-fed Anopheles mosquitoes representing four Anopheles species were collected and 2,796 of the samples were assayed, with Anopheles arabiensis comprising 76.2% (n = 2,542) followed in decreasing order by Anopheles coustani 8.9% (n = 297), Anopheles pharoensis 8.2% (n = 272) and Anopheles funestus 6.7% (n = 222). All mosquito species had a high preference for bovine (range 56.3–71.4%) over human (range 1.1–23.9%) or goat (0.1–2.2%) blood meals. Some individuals from all the four species were found to contain mixed blood meals. The bovine blood index (BBI) for An. arabiensis was significantly higher for populations collected indoors (71.8%), than populations collected outdoors (41.3%), but the human blood index (HBI) did not differ significantly between the two populations. In contrast, BBI for indoor collected An. funestus (51.4%) was significantly lower than for outdoor collected populations (78.0%) and the HBI was significantly higher indoors (28.7%) than outdoors (2.4%). Anthropophily of An. funestus was lowest within the rice scheme, moderate in unplanned rice agro-ecosystem, and highest within the non-irrigated agro-ecosystem. Anthropophily of An. arabiensis was significantly higher in the non-irrigated agro-ecosystem than in the other agro-ecosystems.ConclusionThese findings suggest that rice cultivation has an effect on host choice by Anopheles mosquitoes. The study further indicate that zooprophylaxis may be a potential strategy for malaria control, but there is need to assess how domestic animals may influence arboviruses epidemiology before adapting the strategy.
Highlights
Studies were conducted between April 2004 and February 2006 to determine the bloodfeeding pattern of Anopheles mosquitoes in Mwea Kenya
Anopheles mosquitoes with preference for human blood are considered important vectors of malaria and Bancroftian filariasis, and those with multiple blood meal hosts may increase the rate of arboviruses transmission [5,6]
3,333 blood-fed Anopheles mosquitoes collected indoors and outdoors at eight sites in Mwea, Kenya were tested by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for host blood meal and 2,796 (83.9%) of the samples could be identified
Summary
Studies were conducted between April 2004 and February 2006 to determine the bloodfeeding pattern of Anopheles mosquitoes in Mwea Kenya. The rate of disease transmission is dependent on vector distribution, abundance and lifespan, degree of host-vector-pathogen contact, susceptibility of the vector to the pathogen, and the effects of the pathogen on survivorship of both the vector and the host. These factors are further dependent on local ecologic factors such as local climatic conditions, topography, water table, occurrence and diversity of larval habitats and human lifestyles [2,3]. Anopheles mosquitoes with preference for human blood are considered important vectors of malaria and Bancroftian filariasis, and those with multiple blood meal hosts may increase the rate of arboviruses transmission [5,6]. The choice of blood meal is influenced by several factors including host availability, nutritional requirements, intrinsic host preferences of the species, and vector density [7,8,9,10]
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