The longevity of Anopheles sundaicus in a small area: Nongsa Pantai Villages, Batam City, Indonesia

Abstract

Results The life span (longevity) of An. sundaicus in Nongsa Pantai Village ranged from 7.22 to 9.39 with 8.39 in average as shown in Table 1. Anophelines go through four stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult The first three stages are aquatic and last 5-14 days, depending on the species and the ambient temperature. The female Anopheles is not immediately infective after taking a blood meal and the parasite requires a period of time within the mosquito for its development to an infective stage. The period is termed the extrinsic incubation period [3]. A mosquito needs at least two feedings to complete one transmission cycle [4]. This parameter is strongly dependent on actual air average temperature. It may range from 8 days at 31°C to 22 days at 20°C (the mean value commonly used reaches 15 days). In Berlin, [5] probable extrinsic incubation time 21-24 days calculated for P. falciparum[2]. Theoretically, the time required for malaria transmission is at least 13-24 days under control of local temperature and humidity. That can be described as follows: 4-14 day for development from egg to pupae, and the extrinsic incubation period (EIP) ranged 8-10 days assuming the mosquito takes a blood meal directly from an infected person. The longevity of An. sundaicus in this area might transmit malaria when