Diversity of Anopheles species and zoonotic malaria vector of the Buton Utara Wildlife Sanctuary, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

• Published in: Malaria Journal
• Main Authors: Meyby Eka Putri Lempang, Dendi Hadi Permana, Puji Budi Setia Asih, Suradi Wangsamuda, Farahana Kresno Dewayanti, Ismail Ekoprayitno Rozi, Lepa Syahrani, Wuryantari Setiadi, Ratmawati Malaka, Lucia Muslimin, Din Syafruddin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2023
• Subjects: Primate malaria; Anopheles diversity; Vector molecular identification; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-023-04647-7; https://doaj.org/article/f34c87e313574cffbf78a528901dc4c3

Abstract Background The recent deforestation for agricultural, mining, and human re-settlement has significantly reduced the habitat of many non-human primates (NHPs) in Indonesia and intensifies interaction between the NHPs and humans and thus opening the possibility of pathogen spill-over. The emergence of zoonotic malaria, such as Plasmodium knowlesi, poses an immense threat to the current malaria control and elimination that aims for the global elimination of malaria by 2030. As malaria in humans and NHPs is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito, malaria vector control is very important to mitigate the spill-over of the malaria parasite to humans. The present study aims to explore the Anopheles species diversity in human settlements adjacent to the wildlife sanctuary forest in Buton Utara Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, and identify the species that potentially transmit the pathogen from monkey to human in the area. Methods Mosquito surveillance was conducted using larval and adult collection, and the collected mosquitoes were identified morphologically and molecularly using the barcoding markers, cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), and internal transcribed species 2 (ITS2) genes. Plasmodium sporozoite carriage was conducted on mosquitoes collected through human landing catch (HLC) and human-baited double net trap (HDNT). Results The results revealed several Anopheles species, such as Anopheles flavirostris (16.6%), Anopheles sulawesi (3.3%), Anopheles maculatus (3.3%), Anopheles koliensis (1.2%), and Anopheles vagus (0.4%). Molecular analysis of the sporozoite carriage using the primate-specific malaria primers identified An. sulawesi, a member of the Leucosphyrus group, carrying Plasmodium inui sporozoite. Conclusions This study indicates that the transmission of zoonotic malaria in the area is possible and alerts to the need for mitigation efforts through a locally-tailored vector control intervention and NHPs habitat conservation.