Anopheles subpictus carry human malaria parasites in an urban area of Western India and may facilitate perennial malaria transmission. (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kumar, Ashwani; Hosmani, Rajeshwari; Jadhav, Shivaji; Sousa, Trelita; Mohanty, Ajeet; Naik, Milind; Shettigar, Adarsh; Kale, Satyajit; Valecha, Neena; Chery, Laura; Rathod, Pradipsinh
• Is Part Of: Malaria journal. Volume 15:Number 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 8
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Malaria -- Goa -- New vector -- Salivary glands -- Plasmodium -- Anopheles subpictus; Malaria -- Periodicals; 616.9362
• DOI: 10.1186/s12936-016-1177-x
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1475-2875

Abstract

Abstract Background India contributes 1.5–2 million annual confirmed cases of malaria. Since both parasites and vectors are evolving rapidly, updated information on parasite prevalence in mosquitoes is important for vector management and disease control. Possible new vector-parasite interactions in Goa, India were tested. Methods A total of 1036 CDC traps were placed at four malaria endemic foci in Goa, India from May 2013 to April 2015. These captured 23, 782 mosquitoes, of which there were 1375 female anopheline specimens with ten species identified using morphological keys. Mosquito DNA was analysed for human and bovine blood as well as forPlasmodium falciparum andPlasmodium vivax infection. Results Human host feeding was confirmed inAnopheles stephensi (30 %), Anopheles subpictus (27 %), Anopheles jamesii (22 %), Anopheles annularis (26 %), andAnopheles nigerrimus (16 %). In contrast, Anopheles vagus, Anopheles barbirostris, Anopheles tessellates, Anopheles umbrosus andAnopheles karwari specimens were negative for human blood. Importantly, An. subpictus, which was considered a non-vector in Goa and Western India, was found to be a dominant vector in terms of both total number of mosquitoes collected as well asPlasmodium carriage.Plasmodium infections were detected in 14An. subpictus (2.8 %), while the traditional vector, An. stephensi, showed seven total infections, two of which were in the salivary glands. Of the 14An. subpictus infections, nested PCR demonstrated threePlasmodium infections in the salivary glands: oneP. vivax and two mixed infections ofP. falciparum andP. vivax. In addition, ten gut infections (oneP. vivax, sixP. falciparum and three mixed infections) were seen inAn. subpictus . Longitudinal mosquito collections pointed to a bimodal annual appearance ofAn. subpictus to maintain a perennial malaria transmission cycle of bothP. vivax andP. falciparum in Goa.