Identification of Anopheles species in Sud Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, using molecular tools.

Abstract

The mosquito fauna of the Democratic Republic of Congo remains understudied, including that of the province of Sud Kivu. To improve understanding of species presenting Sud Kivu, adult mosquitoes were collected from houses and larvae were collected from standing water at altitudes between 1627 and 1875 m above sea level. Morphological and molecular methods were used to identify the species of Anopheles collected. Six species were found, including several primary and potential secondary malaria vectors. Further work is needed to characterize mosquito populations in Sud Kivu, as well as to improve methods for identifying Anopheles in general.