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Mosquito species abundance and diversity in Malindi, Kenya and their potential implication in pathogen transmission

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Abstract

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are important vectors of human disease-causing pathogens. Mosquitoes are found both in rural and urban areas. Deteriorating infrastructure, poor access to health, water and sanitation services, increasing population density, and widespread poverty contribute to conditions that modify the environment, which directly influences the risk of disease within the urban and peri-urban ecosystem. The objective of this study was to evaluate the mosquito vector abundance and diversity in urban, peri-urban, and rural strata in Malindi along the Kenya coast. The study was conducted in the coastal district of Malindi between January and December 2005. Three strata were selected which were described as urban, peri-urban, and rural. Sampling was done during the wet and dry seasons. Sampling in the wet season was done in the months of April and June to cover the long rainy season and in November and December to cover the short rainy season, while the dry season was between January and March and September and October. Adult mosquito collection was done using Pyrethrum Spray Collection (PSC) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light traps inside houses and specimens were identified morphologically. In the three strata (urban, peri-urban, and rural), 78.5% of the total mosquito (n = 7,775) were collected using PSC while 18.1% (n = 1,795) were collected using the CDC light traps. Using oviposition traps, mosquito eggs were collected and reared in the insectary which yielded 329 adults of which 83.8% (n = 276) were Aedes aegypti and 16.2% (n = 53) were Culex quinquefasciatus. The mosquito distribution in the three sites varied significantly in each collection site. Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles funestus and Anopheles coustani were predominant in the rural stratum while C. quinquefasciatus was mostly found in urban and peri-urban strata. However, using PSC and CDC light trap collection techniques, A. aegypti was only found in urban strata. In the three strata, mosquitoes were mainly found in high numbers during the wet season. Further, A. gambiae, C. quinquefasciatus, and A. aegypti mosquitoes were found occurring together inside the houses. This in turn exposes the inhabitants to an array of mosquito-borne diseases including malaria, bancroftian filariasis, and arboviruses (dengue fever, Yellow fever, Rift Valley fever, Chikungunya fever, and West Nile Virus). In conclusion, our findings provide useful information for the design of integrated mosquito and disease control programs in East African environments.

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Acknowledgement

We are grateful to Rosemary Wamae, Gabriel Nzai, Festus Yaa, and Shida David for help in field collections. We acknowledge the communities in the villages for giving their consent for our field team to work in their villages and houses. This work was supported by EHP grant and NIH Exploratory Centers grant (P20 RR020770). Dr. Beier was also partially supported by the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami. Additional support was by the Biovision Foundation of Switzerland through International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). This paper has been published with the permission of the Director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the Director General of ICIPE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research Coast, P.O. Box 428, 80108, Kilifi, Kenya

    Joseph M. Mwangangi, Janet Midega, Samuel Kahindi, Laban Njoroge, Joseph Nzovu & Charles M. Mbogo

  2. International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, P.O. Box 30772, GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya

    John Githure

  3. Global Public Health Program, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, South Campus, 12500 S.W. 152nd Street, Bldg. A, Miami, FL, 33177, USA

    John C. Beier

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  1. Joseph M. Mwangangi
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  2. Janet Midega
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  3. Samuel Kahindi
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Correspondence to Joseph M. Mwangangi.

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Mwangangi, J.M., Midega, J., Kahindi, S. et al. Mosquito species abundance and diversity in Malindi, Kenya and their potential implication in pathogen transmission. Parasitol Res 110, 61–71 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2449-6

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