Species composition, seasonal abundance and distribution of potential anopheline vectors in a malaria endemic area of Iran: field assessment for malaria elimination

• Published in: Malaria Journal
• Main Authors: Alireza Sanei-Dehkordi, Moussa Soleimani-Ahmadi, Seyed Aghil Jaberhashemi, Mehdi Zare
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2019
• Subjects: Anopheles; Malaria; Topography; Bashagard; Iran; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2795-x; https://doaj.org/article/792ed71770be4eecb7fdb18e0d3eca2d

Abstract Background Despite decreases in incidence, malaria remains a major public health challenge in south and southeast Iran, where vector control is considered one of the main strategies for elimination of the disease. The efficacy of this strategy depends on understanding malaria vector ecology, which varies by species. This study was conducted to determine the species composition, seasonal abundance and distribution of potential anopheline vectors in Bashagard County, one of the important malaria-endemic areas in south Iran. Methods In this cross-sectional study, four typical foothill and mountainous villages were selected by simple random sampling. Anopheline mosquitoes were collected by the standard dipping method for larvae and total catch for adults. Anopheline specimens were morphologically identified using taxonomic keys. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS ver.20 software. Results In total, 1211 anopheline specimens, including 1055 (87.12%) larvae and 156 (12.88%) adults, were collected and identified. They consisted of 9 species: Anopheles moghulensis (27.89%), Anopheles dthali (18.91%), Anopheles culicifacies (16.60%), Anopheles stephensi (15.38%), Anopheles turkhudi (9.83%), Anopheles superpictus (9.66%), Anopheles apoci (1.40%), Anopheles fluviatilis (0.17%), and Anopheles sergentii (0.08%). The most prevalent species in adult catches were An. culicifacies (44.23%), An. dthali (21.15%) and An. stephensi (16.03%), and the most prevalent species caught as larvae were An. moghulensis (31.94%), An. dthali (18.85%) and An. stephensi (15.26%). Most of the anopheline species were distributed in different topographical areas and two proven malaria vectors, An. culicifacies and An. superpictus, were significantly associated with altitude and collected more frequently in the foothill regions. Most of the anopheline species were present almost throughout the year with a major peak in April and a smaller peak in October. Conclusion The results of this study revealed that there are five malaria ...