Distribution of Anopheles daciae and other Anopheles maculipennis complex species in Serbia

Malaria is one of the most severe health problems facing the world today. Until the mid-twentieth century, Europe was an endemic area of malaria, with the Balkan countries being heavily infested. Sibling species belonging to the Anopheles maculipennis complex are well-known as effective vectors of Plasmodium in Europe. A vast number of human malaria cases in the past in the former Yugoslavia territory have stressed the significance of An. maculipennis complex species as primary and secondary vectors. Therefore, the present study evaluates the species composition, geographic distribution and abundance of these malaria vector species. Mosquitoes were collected in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina and analysed by PCR-RFLP, multiplex PCR and sequencing of the ITS2 intron of genomic rDNA. Four sibling species of the An. maculipennis complex were identified. Both larvae and adults of the recently described species An. daciae were identified for the first time in Serbia. In 250 larval samples, 109 (44%) An. messeae, 90 (36%) An. maculipennis s.s., 33 (13%) An. daciae and 18 (7%) An. atroparvus were identified. In adult collections, 81 (47%) An. messeae, 55 (32%) An. daciae, 33 (19%) An. maculipennis s.s., and 3 (2%) An. atroparvus were recorded. The most abundant species in Vojvodina was An. messeae, whereas An. atroparvus was confirmed a rare species in all parts. Since this species is a potentially, highly competent malarial vector, low population density could be crucial to prevent a new establishment of endemic malaria transmission in Serbia.