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Influence of indoor microclimate and diet on survival of Anopheles gambiae s.s. (Diptera: Culicidae) in village house conditions in western Kenya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2007

Bernard A. Okech ,
Louis C. Gouagna ,
Bart G.J. Knols ,
Ephantus W. Kabiru ,
Gerry F. Killeen ,
John C. Beier ,
Guiyun Yan  and
John I. Githure
Bernard A. Okech*
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), PO Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya Kenya Medical Research Institute, PO Box 54840-00100, Nairobi, Kenya Department of Zoology, Kenyatta University, PO Box 43844, Nairobi, Kenya
Louis C. Gouagna
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), PO Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya
Bart G.J. Knols
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), PO Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya
Ephantus W. Kabiru
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), PO Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya
Gerry F. Killeen
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), PO Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya
John C. Beier
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
Guiyun Yan
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA
John I. Githure
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), PO Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya
*
*Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The survival of female Anopheles gambiae s.s. mosquitoes inside two village house types (grass-thatched and iron-roofed) was studied in relation to diet and ambient indoor microclimatic conditions. Two batches of 20–30, 1-day-old laboratory-bred mosquitoes were maintained inside cages in the grass-thatched (n=2) and iron-roofed (n=2) houses and fed daily, one group on 10% glucose and the other on human blood. Throughout the experiments, indoor temperature and relative humidity of the houses were recorded, and mortality of mosquitoes monitored daily until all had died. The experiments were replicated thrice. There was no significant variation in the overall mean temperature (P=0.93) or relative humidity profiles (P=0.099) between the two house types, although the iron-roofed houses recorded higher temperature peaks. A Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that the mean survival times of mosquitoes were 8 and 10 days in the two grass-thatched huts and 7 and 10 days in the two iron-roof houses for mosquitoes feeding on blood and sugar meals, respectively. The mean survival times of mosquitoes maintained inside similar house types differed only due to diet. In the proportionality of hazards model (Cox regression), the dietary regimes significantly influenced the probability of survival (P=0.0001), with mosquitoes surviving longer on sugar meals than on blood. Microclimatic factors inside houses also significantly influenced mosquito survival. Although higher peak temperatures were recorded in corrugated iron-roofed houses, the survival of the mosquitoes resting in them did not differ significantly from that in grass-thatched houses. However, the impact of these temperatures on the development of malaria parasites inside the vector needs to be investigated.

Keywords

mosquitoindoor survivalhouse construction materialAnopheles gambiaeindoor microclimatewestern Kenya
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , September 2004 , pp. 207 - 212
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 2004

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