Anopheles species composition explains differences in Plasmodium transmission in La Guajira, northern Colombia

BackgroundMalaria remains a worldwide public health concern and, in Colombia, despite the efforts to stop malaria transmission, the incidence of cases has increased over the last few years. In this context, it is necessary to evaluate vector diversity, infection rates, and spatial distribution, to better understand disease transmission dynamics. This information may contribute to the planning and development of vector control strategies.ResultsA total of 778 Anopheles mosquitoes were collected in fifteen localities of Córdoba from August 2015 to October 2016. Six species were identified and overall, Anopheles albimanus was the most widespread and abundant species (83%). Other species of the Nyssorhynchus subgenus were collected, including Anopheles triannulatus (13%), Anopheles nuneztovari (1%), Anopheles argyritarsis (< 1%) and two species belonging to the Anopheles subgenus: Anopheles pseudopunctipennis (3%) and Anopheles neomaculipalpus (< 1%). Four species were found naturally infected with two Plasmodium species: Anopheles nuneztovari was detected naturally infected with Plasmodium falciparum and Anopheles pseudopunctipennis with Plasmodium vivax, whereas An. albimanus and An. triannulatus were found infected with both parasite species and confirmed by nested PCR.ConclusionsIn general, the obtained results were contrasting with previous studies in terms of the most abundant and widespread collected species, and regarding infection rates, which were higher than those previously reported. A positive relationship between mosquito local abundance at the locality level and human infection at the municipality level was found. Mosquito local abundance and the number of houses with mosquitoes in each village are factors explaining malaria human cases in these villages. The obtained results suggest that other factors related to the apparent variation in malaria eco-epidemiology in northern Colombia, must be identified, to provide health authorities with better decision tools aiming to design control and prevention strategies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-017-2076-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…neomaculipalpus [33], 98% for An. pseudopunctipennis [52] and 99% for An. albimanus , and 99% for An.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Entomological characterization of malaria in northern Colombia through vector and parasite species identification, and analyses of spatial distribution and infection rates

González

Molina

León

et al. 2017

Malar J

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“…Anopheles albimanus larvae were found in the three states, principally associated to larval habitats with standing water and the presence of vegetation. This species was associated with permanent larval habitats with turbid water in Córdoba, as in other parts of Latin America [ 24 , 30 – 42 ]. The results showed that An.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Larval habitat characteristics of the main malaria vectors in the most endemic regions of Colombia: potential implications for larval control

Conde

Pareja

Orjuela

et al. 2015

Malar J

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BackgroundMalaria incidence has recently decreased globally and, as malaria elimination is envisioned as a possibility by the health authorities, guidance is needed to strengthen malaria control strategies. Larval source treatment, which could complement routine vector control strategies, requires knowledge regarding the Anopheles larval habitats.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in three of the most malaria-endemic regions in Colombia. A total of 1116 potential larval habitats in 70 villages were sampled in three states located in western Colombia: Cordoba, Valle del Cauca and Nariño.ResultsOverall, 17.5 % (195) of the potential larval habitats were found positive for different Anopheles species. A total of 1683 larvae were identified belonging to seven species: Anophelesalbimanus, Anopheles calderoni, Anophelesdarlingi, Anophelesneomaculipalpus, Anophelesnuneztovaris.l., Anophelespseudopunctipennis, and Anophelestriannulatus. The most widely distributed species was An. nuneztovari s.l., which was found mainly in human-made fishponds in Cordoba and temporary puddles in Valle del Cauca. Anophelesalbimanus and An. calderoni were associated with human-made wells or excavation sites in Nariño. Cordoba displayed the greatest Anopheles species diversity with a total of six species (Shannon diversity index H′: 1.063). Although Valle del Cauca had four species, one more than Nariño, the diversity was lower because only one species predominated, An. nuneztovari s.l. The larval habitats with the highest Shannon diversity index were lagoons (H′: 1.079) and fishponds (H′: 1.009) in Cordoba, excavation sites in Nariño (H′: 0.620) and puddles in Valle del Cauca (H′: 0.764).ConclusionsThis study provides important information regarding the larval habitats of the main malaria vectors in the most malaria-endemic regions of Colombia, which will be useful in guiding larval control operations.

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“…Localities (denoted by yellow dots) where the primary malaria vector Nyssorhynchus darlingi has been reported infected with Plasmodium vivax or Plasmodium falciparum incriminated by molecular methods during 2005 to 2017[8,35,59,60,73,80,[87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103]. Map made in Google Earth Pro[83,84].…”

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confidence: 99%

Malaria Transmission in South America—Present Status and Prospects for Elimination

Conn¹,

Grillet²,

Correa³

et al. 2018

Towards Malaria Elimination - A Leap Forward

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Four countries (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela) together contributed ~80% of the 875,000 malaria cases reported in the Latin American region (2016). During the 10-year period (2005-2015) when global malaria incidence was dramatically reduced, Brazil and Colombia were an integral part of this trend, on track to meet the mid-term 2020 goal established by the World Health Organization. In Colombia, since 2015 at the cessation of a five-year globally funded malaria program, both incidence and proportion of Plasmodium falciparum infections have increased, mainly due to the budget constraints. Similarly, despite a strong record and major recognition for reducing malaria, in 2017, Brazil has seen a resurgence of malaria cases, but no increase in the proportion of Plasmodium falciparum to P. vivax. A globally funded malaria control program in Peru from 2005 to 2010 resulted in appreciable reduction in the annual parasitic incidence down to 1/1000 by 2011-2012, but soon after, the annual malaria incidence began to rise and by the end of 2017, there were 53,261 reported cases. To add to Venezuela's political and financial woes, malaria continues to increase, such that, 300,189 cases were reported by the end of week 42, 2017. The only rational pathway to malaria elimination is sustained nation-level financial support that does not fall prey to political vicissitudes.

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Anopheles species composition explains differences in Plasmodium transmission in La Guajira, northern Colombia

Cited by 15 publications

References 13 publications

Entomological characterization of malaria in northern Colombia through vector and parasite species identification, and analyses of spatial distribution and infection rates

Entomological characterization of malaria in northern Colombia through vector and parasite species identification, and analyses of spatial distribution and infection rates

Larval habitat characteristics of the main malaria vectors in the most endemic regions of Colombia: potential implications for larval control

Malaria Transmission in South America—Present Status and Prospects for Elimination

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