Understanding the impact of altitude and ecological heterogeneity at a fine scale on the populations of malaria vectors is essential to better understand and anticipate eventual epidemiological changes. It could help to evaluate the spread of alleles conferring resistance to insecticides and also determine any increased entomological risk of transmission in highlands due to global warming. We used microsatellite markers to measure the effect of altitude and distance on the population genetic structure of Anopheles funestus and Anopheles gambiae s.s. in the Muheza area in the north-eastern part of Tanzania (seven loci for each species). Our analysis reveals strong gene flow between the different populations of An. funestus from lowland and highland areas, as well as between populations of An. gambiae sampled in the lowland area. These results highlight for An. funestus the absence of a significant spatial subpopulation structuring at small-scale, despite a steep ecological and altitudinal cline. Our findings are important in the understanding of the possible spread of alleles conferring insecticide resistance through mosquito populations. Such information is essential for vector control programmes to avoid the rapid spread and fixation of resistance in mosquito populations.

The effects of sex, age of the human host, patency of asexual and sexual stages and seasonality on infectiousness of Plasmodium falciparum to mosquitoes were investigated in a rural village in southern Tanzania between 1992 and 1994. Villagers from randomized subgroups of households were surveyed for malaria parasites. Gametocyte and trophozoite prevalences were age dependent and fluctuated without any clear pattern of seasonality. A sample of 107 participants, selected to include an excess of gametocyte carriers, slept under bednets with holes cut into the sides for 3 weeks. A total of 3837 Anopheles gambiae s.l. and 5403 A. funestus recovered from these bednets, was examined for all oocysts 5–7 days after feeding or for oocysts less than 17·5 µn in diameter 2–3 days after feeding. Additional blood slides from participants were taken twice weekly. The 5–7 day oocyst rates were 12·1% in A. gambiae s.l. and 10·9% in A. funestus and 2–3 day rates were 3·6 and 4·9%, respectively. The higher rates using the former method were attributed to previous infection. There were strong correlations in the levels of infection in both vectors when they fed on the same hosts. However, patent gametocytaemia was only weakly associated with the development of oocysts in the mosquito. Infectiousness was not related to host age, sex, or the season.

House-resting Anopheles mosquitoes are targeted for vector control interventions; however, without proper species identification, the importance of these Anopheles to malaria transmission is unknown. Anopheles longipalpis, a non-vector species, has been found in significant numbers resting indoors in houses in southern Zambia, potentially impacting on the utilization of scarce resources for vector control. The identification of An. longipalpis is currently based on classical morphology using minor characteristics in the adult stage and major ones in the larval stage. The close similarity to the major malaria vector An. funestus led to investigations into the development of a molecular assay for identification of An. longipalpis. Molecular analysis of An. longipalpis from South Africa and Zambia revealed marked differences in size and nucleotide sequence in the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region of ribosomal DNA between these two populations, leading to the conclusion that more than one species was being analysed. Phylogenetic analysis showed the Zambian samples aligned with An. funestus, An. vaneedeni and An. parensis, whereas the South African sample aligned with An. leesoni, a species that is considered to be more closely related to the Asian An. minimus subgroup than to the African An. funestus subgroup. Species-specific primers were designed to be used in a multiplex PCR assay to distinguish between these two cryptic species and members of the An. funestus subgroup for which there is already a multiplex PCR assay.

The effect of pyrethroid resistance on the fitness of a laboratory strain of Anopheles funestus originating from southern Mozambique was evaluated by comparing the developmental and reproductive characteristics of a pyrethroid resistant strain with an insecticide susceptible strain. Fitness was evaluated in terms of fecundity, fertility, egg production, developmental time and life stage progression and survival. Of the eggs laid by females of the resistant strain, 81.5% hatched while only 66.9% were recorded in the susceptible strain. The time from egg hatch to adult emergence was longer for the resistant strain (15.9 days) than the susceptible strain (15.2 days). A significantly higher proportion of eggs from the resistant strain (61.6%) survived to adulthood compared with those of the susceptible strain (49%). Fecundity and larval and pupal survival did not differ significantly between strains. Of spermathecae dissected from females of the resistant strain, 56.8% were fertilized compared to 52.6% from the susceptible strain. The proportion of females that successfully produced eggs was 43.3% and 23.3% for the resistant and susceptible strains respectively. Complete failure of larval hatch was recorded in 28.6% of susceptible strain families compared to 7.7% of resistant families. Our results show that pyrethroid resistance in southern African An. funestus does not incur any loss of fitness under laboratory conditions. These results suggest that the removal of pyrethroid insecticide selection pressure may not lead to a regression of resistance alleles in pyrethroid resistant An. funestus populations in southern Africa.

The study reported here evaluated the distribution, relative abundance, and malaria transmission potential of Anopheles mosquitoes at 30 sites representing different ecological strata in western Kenya. Seasonal variation in anopheline densities and transmission potential, as expressed by Entomological inoculation rates (EIR), was investigated. Of the 6491 indoor resting anopheline mosquitoes collected at the 30 sites, 91.3 % (n = 5926) were An. gambiae s.l. and 8.7 % (n = 565) were An. funestus with an average house density of 6.58 and 0.63, respectively. Analysis of the data indicated significant variation in mosquito densities between study sites, species and season. High densities of both An. gambiae and An. funestus were recorded in the northern and northeastern parts of the district, while generally low densities were recorded in the south. Anopheles gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis comprised 60.3 % (n = 3573) and 39.7 % (n = 2352) of the total number of An. gambiae s.l. mosquitoes collected, respectively. The composition of the An. gambiae s.l. sibling species showed temporal and spatial variation. Entomologic inoculation rates were estimated at 1.55 and 0.12 infective bites per person per month for An. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus, respectively. This study reveals considerable seasonal and site-specific variation in vector distribution, composition and transmission potential. Application of control interventions must therefore consider seasonal variations since the vectorial system changes quite rapidly over a short period of time.