Reduced human-biting preferences of the African malaria vectors Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles gambiae in an urban context: controlled, competitive host-preference experiments in Tanzania

BACKGROUND

Host preference is a critical determinant of human exposure to vector-borne infections and the impact of vector control interventions. Widespread use of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) across sub-Saharan Africa, which protect humans against mosquitoes, may select for altered host preference traits of malaria vectors over the long term. Here, the host preferences of Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) were experimentally assessed in the field, using direct host-preference assays in two distinct ecological settings in Tanzania.

METHODS

Eight Ifakara Tent Trap (ITT), four baited with humans and four with bovine calves, were simultaneously used to catch malaria vectors in open field sites in urban and rural Tanzania. The numbers of mosquitoes collected in human-baited traps versus calf-baited traps were used to estimate human feeding preference for each site's vector species.

RESULTS

The estimated proportion [95% confidence interval (CI)] of mosquitoes attacking humans rather than cattle was 0.60 [0.40, 0.77] for An. arabiensis in the rural setting and 0.61 [0.32, 0.85] for An. gambiae s.s. in the urban setting, indicating no preference for either host in both cases (P = 0.32 and 0.46, respectively) and no difference in preference between the two (Odds Ratio (OR) [95%] = 0.95 [0.30, 3.01], P = 0.924). However, only a quarter of An. arabiensis in the urban setting attacked humans (0.25 [0.09, 0.53]), indicating a preference for cattle that approached significance (P = 0.08). Indeed, urban An. arabiensis were less likely to attack humans rather than cattle when compared to the same species in the rural setting (OR [95%] = 0.21 [0.05, 0.91], P = 0.037).

CONCLUSION

Urban An. arabiensis had a stronger preference for cattle than the rural population and urban An. gambiae s.s. showed no clear preference for either humans or cattle. In the urban setting, both species exhibited stronger tendencies to attack cattle than previous studies of the same species in rural contexts. Cattle keeping may, therefore, particularly limit the impact of human-targeted vector control interventions in Dar es Salaam and perhaps in other African towns and cities.

Foraging range of arthropods with veterinary interest: New insights for Afrotropical Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) using the ring method

The identification of blood meal source of arthropod vector species contributes to the understanding of host-vector-pathogen interactions. The aim of the current work was to identify blood meal source in Culicoides biting midge species, biological vectors of internationally important arboviruses of livestock and equids, using a new ecological approach. We examined the correlation between blood meal source identified in engorged Culicoides females collected in a suction light trap and the available vertebrate hosts along four rings (200, 500, 1000 and 2000 m) centered at the trap site and described the foraging range of the three main vector species of veterinary interest present in the study area, Culicoides imicola, Culicoides kingi and Culicoides oxystoma. The study was performed in four sites localized in the Niayes region of Senegal (West Africa) where recent outbreaks of African horse sickness occurred. Blood meal source identification was carried out by species-specific multiplex PCRs with genomic DNA extracted from the abdomen of engorged females collected during nine night collections for twenty-six collections. The four most abundant hosts present in the studied area (horse, cattle, goat and sheep) were surveyed in each ring zone. The blood meal source varied according to Culicoides species and host availability in each site. C. oxystoma and C. imicola females mainly fed on horses readily available at 200 m maximum from the trap location whereas females of C. kingi fed mainly on cattle, at variable distances from the traps (200 to 2000 m). C. oxystoma may also feed on other vertebrates. We discuss the results in relation with the transmission of Culicoides-borne arboviruses and the species dispersion capacities.