Village-scale evaluation of mosquito nets treated with a tablet formulation of deltamethrin against malaria vectors

A field trial was carried out in the Sundargarh district of Orissa, India on the efficacy of mosquito nets treated with a tablet formulation of deltamethrin (K-O TAB) against malaria vectors. Treated nets were used in one village, and in the two control villages, one used untreated nets and the other used indoor spraying with DDT, without nets. In this area the primary malaria vectors are Anopheles culicifacies Giles sensu lato (Diptera: Culicidae) and An. fluviatilis James s.l., which are both endophagic and endophilic, and fully susceptible to deltamethrin. Treatment of a 10-m(2) mosquito net with one of the tablets gave a deltamethrin deposit of 25 mg/m(2). Bioassays repeated on domestically used nets over 7 months showed persistence of almost 100% mortality of An. fluviatilis, whereas An. culicifacies showed a decline from 100% to 71% mortality over this period, after which the nets were re-treated and bioassays were not continued. The sum of collections of mosquitoes resting in village houses and those in exit traps and dead on floor sheets showed a reduction in the numbers of the two vector species due to the treated nets, compared with untreated or no nets, but no reduction in other anophelines or Culex species. Large proportions of the collections of the vector and non-vector anophelines were dead on the floor sheets, but among Culex, mortality was delayed. Treated and untreated nets reduced the proportion of anophelines that had blood-fed; the treated nets did so more effectively than the untreated in the case of An. culicifacies and of Culex mosquitoes. In rooms with treated nets a larger proportion of the total collections [dead + live] were in the exit traps, which can be attributed to the excito-repellent effect of deltamethrin. It is easier to pack and handle tablets of insecticide than liquid concentrate and the use of one tablet per net may be preferable to making up a large volume of diluted insecticide and dipping many nets at a time.     

云南省库态按蚊复合体的亲缘种型研究(双翅目,蚊科)(英文)

库态按蚊是1个由5种亲缘种型组成的按蚊复合体,这些种型分别被命名为A、B、C、D 和 E 型。在使用PCR 检测还没有条件的地区,鉴定库态按蚊亲缘种型的一个重要方法是作染色体组型分析。使用库态按蚊幼虫作染色体涂片,对云南地区的库态按蚊种型作了初步研究,并首次报道了该地区存在的亲缘种型成员,认为在云南省库态按蚊 A型和 B 型在同一个地区并存。同时,还展示了库态按蚊复合体的染色体组型、核型模式图及种型在中国毗邻国家的分布地图。     

Multiple host feeding in field populations of Anopheles culicifacies and An. subpictus in Sri Lanka

A histological technique was used to detect the multiple blood-feeding of female mosquitoes, within the same gonotrophic cycle, in field populations of the malaria vectors Anopheles culicifacies and An. subpictus (Diptera: Culicidae) at a village in the low country of Sri Lanka, during 1994-96. Among 3306 An. culicifacies and 871 An. subpictus engorged females examined, respectively, 34.4% and 30.4% were multiple-fed. In these two species, double meals accounted for 92.7% and 89.5%, and triple meals for 7.3% and 10.5% of multiple meals, respectively. More females of An. culicifacies (53.7%) than An. subpictus (44.5%) multiple-fed on different nights. Multiple feeding rates in the two species were independent of sample size and field abundance. In An. culicifacies, but not An. subpictus, these rates were proportional to ambient temperature but not to humidity. Bloodmeal ELISA showed that 8.3% of 242 An. culicifacies were human-fed and 80% of these (i.e. 6.6%) were concurrently bovid-fed. Combining the histological and ELISA data, it was estimated that multiple feeding involving a human host had occurred in 7.2% of the blood-feeding An. culicifacies population at this study site. Only 1.2% of 406 An. subpictus were human-fed and all of these were concurrently bovid-fed. Multiple bloodfeeding within the same gonotrophic cycle was attributed to a local 'frequent feeding strategy' in these primarily zoophagic and endophilic malaria vectors. Unfortunately this strategy enhances their human-biting rate and hence their vectorial capacity.     

Anopheles culicifacies: effects of age on the male reproductive system and mating ability of virgin adult mosquitoes

Abstract. Under controlled laboratory conditions of 28–30^oC and 16:8 L:D photoperiod, an attempt was made to develop an age-grading technique for Anopheles culicifacies males. Mating activity was maximal when females were 5–12 days old and males were 5–7 days old. The numbers of total and mature spermatocysts declined significantly with age, and the proportion of the testes occupied by the sperm reservoir increased as virgin males grew older. Mating resulted in the loss of spermatozoa and accessory gland substance from the reproductive system. Loss of mating ability of older virgin males seemed to be age-related, because the reproductive system contained ample supplies of accessory gland substance and spermatozoa. Morphological changes of the reproductive system, due to mating and age, were used to infer the age and reproductive history of unknown males in a laboratory evaluation.     

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers from malaria vector,Anopheles culicifacies

Anopheles culicifacies, an important vector in the Indian subcontinent is a complex of five sibling species of which four are vectors. We describe the isolation of 31 microsatellite markers from the recently recognized isomorphic species A of which 13 were characterized in sympatric populations of Anopheles culicifacies isomorphic species A and B. The allele frequencies ranges from two to 12 in species A and two to seven in species B. Species A being a vector, and that these markers can be used in closely related species, makes the isolation of these markers important to study population structure of all sibling species in this complex.     

Field trial of the effectiveness of indoor-spraying with pirimiphos-methyl emulsion for malaria control in a tribal area of Phulbani district, Orissa State, India

A field trial of malaria vector control was conducted in Phulbani district, Orissa, during 1984 and 1985. Indoor-spraying of pirimiphos-methyl emulsion formulation was undertaken at an application rate of 2 g/m2 in two sections (population 14,692) of Nuagaon Primary Health Centre. Houses in two adjacent sections (population 21,450) were sprayed with DDT a water dispersible powder (wdp) formulation at 1 g/m2 for comparison purposes. Operational problems in this area come from the tendency of tribal people to re-plaster over wdp applications. Pre-spray malariological indices in the trial area were 38% slide positivity rate, 37% slide falciparum rate and 12.1% annual parasite incidence. Densities of Anopheles annularis Van der Wulp, An. culicifacies Giles, An. fluviatilis Theobald and other potential malaria vectors were reduced in the pirimiphos-methyl trial area 2-35-fold more than in the area sprayed with DDT. Malariological indices were reduced by 65-68% in the pirimiphos-methyl sprayed area compared with only 26-35% reduction in the DDT sprayed area. Spraymen and villagers experienced no adverse side-effects from residual house-spraying with pirimiphos-methyl emulsion and it is concluded that this organophosphate product has advantages for malaria vector control, especially in operationally difficult situations.     

Lactate dehydrogenase allozyme differentiation of species in the Anopheles culicifacies complex

Abstract Genetically controlled enzyme variation exists within and between four sibling species of the Anopheles culicifacies complex of malaria vectors in India. A study on electrophoretic variation of nine enzymes in An.culicifacies sibling species revealed that the lactate dehydrogenase ( Ldh ) locus has Fast (F) and Slow (S) allozymes distinguishing species A+D from species B+C with a probability of c . 95%.     

Population dynamics of anthropophilic mosquitoes during the northeast monsoon season in the malaria epidemic zone of Sri Lanka

Abstract. Mosquito-borne diseases are a major health problem in Sri Lanka. Human biting mosquitoes were collected during the night (18.00–06.00 hours) at Nikawehera village, in the malaria endemic intermediate rainfall zone of the country. Collections were made at monthly intervals in the period October 1991 to April 1992, which included the main rainy season due to the northeast monsoon (October-January). Thirteen Anopheles , eleven Culex , three Aedes , three Mansonia and one Armigeres species were identified, including known vectors of malaria, Bancroftian filariasis, Japanese encephalitis and dengue fever. Mosquito human-biting rates were highest in December. The main malaria vector Anopheles culicifacies showed peak biting between 18.00 and 23.00 hours whereas the predominant culicines Culex fuscocephala and Cx quinquefasciatus preferred to bite after midnight. In 1991-92 the prevalence of some species of anophelines at Nikawehera differed markedly from that observed in 1990-91 and the possible reasons are discussed.