Abstract
BackgroundMalaria is one of the most important tropical diseases that affects people globally. The influence of environmental conditions in the patterns of temporal distribution of malaria vectors and the disease has been studied in different countries. In the present study, ecological aspects of the malaria vector Anopheles (Anopheles) pseudopunctipennis and their relationship with climatic variables, as well as the seasonality of malaria cases, were studied in two localities, El Oculto and Aguas Blancas, in north-western Argentina.MethodsThe fluctuation of An. pseudopunctipennis and the malaria cases distribution was analysed with Random Effect Poisson Regression. This analysis takes into account the effect of each climatic variable on the abundance of both vector and malaria cases, giving as results predicted values named Incidence Rate Radio.ResultsThe number of specimens collected in El Oculto and Aguas Blancas was 4224 (88.07%) and 572 (11.93%), respectively. In El Oculto no marked seasonality was found, different from Aguas Blancas, where high abundance was detected at the end of spring and the beginning of summer. The maximum mean temperature affected the An. pseudopunctipennis fluctuation in El Oculto and Aguas Blancas. When considering the relationship between the number of malaria cases and the climatic variables in El Oculto, maximum mean temperature and accumulated rainfall were significant, in contrast with Aguas Blancas, where mean temperature and humidity showed a closer relationship to the fluctuation in the disease.ConclusionThe temporal distribution patterns of An. pseudopunctipennis vary in both localities, but spring appears as the season with better conditions for mosquito development. Maximum mean temperature was the most important variable in both localities. Malaria cases were influenced by the maximum mean temperature in El Oculto, while the mean temperature and humidity were significant in Aguas Blancas. In Aguas Blancas peaks of mosquito abundance and three months later, peaks of malaria cases were observed. The study reported here will help to increase knowledge about not only vectors and malaria seasonality but also their relationships with the climatic variables that influence their appearances and abundances.
Highlights
Malaria is one of the most important tropical diseases that affects people globally
Seasonal variation in An. pseudopunctipennis populations Anopheles pseudopunctipennis was the predominant species in El Oculto (4224/6624 specimens) but not in Aguas Blancas (572/2477 specimens)
In South America research was focused on others malaria vectors such as Anopheles darlingi, Anopheles albimanus and Anopheles aquasalis
Summary
Malaria is one of the most important tropical diseases that affects people globally. The influence of environmental conditions in the patterns of temporal distribution of malaria vectors and the disease has been studied in different countries. Ecological aspects of the malaria vector Anopheles (Anopheles) pseudopunctipennis and their relationship with climatic variables, as well as the seasonality of malaria cases, were studied in two localities, El Oculto and Aguas Blancas, in north-western Argentina. One of the most important human parasitic diseases, seemed to be under control in the 1950s. In Argentina, malaria cases decreased towards the end of 1980 and increased again in 2000 by almost 100%; 80% of these cases were recorded as imported [1]. The provinces most affected by the disease were Salta and Jujuy, located on the border between Argentina and Bolivia, where human migration and the lack of vector control are among the factors hypothesized to favour malaria transmission. In Salta and Jujuy provinces, malaria transmission historically started in October or November [5,2]. Malaria transmission occurred mainly inside houses as a consequence of the high density, strong anthropophily and indoor resting tendency of Anopheles (Anopheles) pseudopunctipennis [2]
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