Spatial and temporal distributions and insecticide susceptibility of malaria vectors in Zimbabwe
Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: The malaria vector situation in Zimbabwe has not been systematically analysed since the introduction of national malaria control activities in 1947.We conducted a national survey on the spatial and temporal distribution and susceptibility to insecticides of malaria vectors. Members of the Anopheles gambiae complex constitute the primary vectors of malaria in Zimbabwe. Four members of the complex were found in various combinations of sympatry, including An. gambiae s.s. Giles, An. Arabiensis Patton, An. Merus Donitz and An. Quadriannulatus Theobald (species A). The wide distribution of An. Arabiensis, often in association with the non-vector An. Quadriannulatus, confirmed its status as the principal vector. The patchily distributed species, An. Merus, was implicated in malaria transmission at Masakadza, Gokwe District. Anopheles gambiae s.s. was found in the Zambezi Valley area of Kanyemba, while An. Funestus Giles was detected at Humani Ranch, Chiredzi District, in the southeast lowveld of Zimbabwe. The scarcity of previously abundant vector species is attributed to insecticide spray programmes that commenced in the 1980s. DDT resistance was detected in An. Arabiensis collected from market gardens in Gokwe suggesting that agrochemicals used on crops may have induced the resistance. Tests in other areas indicated continued susceptibility of the An. Gambiae complex to all four classes of insecticides available for public health purposes. Up to date information on species distributions is essential for implementing effective control strategies and for managing insecticide resistance in vectors of malaria.
Source: African Entomology
Language: English
Topic: Malaria Research and Control
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $369
OpenAlex ID: W2516549476