Characterization of Anopheles mosquito larval habitats and species composition in Bambasi District, Northwestern Ethiopia

Malaria is a widespread vector-borne disease in the tropics and subtropics causing nearly half a million deaths every year. Malaria vector control intervention mainly rely on the control of adults using Indoor residual sprayings (IRS) and long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). The purpose of this study was to assess the species composition of Anopheles mosquitoes and determine the environmental and physicochemical parameters of their breeding habitats in Bambasi district, Benshangul Gumuz regional state, northwestern Ethiopia. Three major Anopheles breeding habitats were identified in three Kebeles namely; drainage ditch (Keshmando), swamp (Amba 46), and stagnant water (Amba 47). Anopheles mosquito larvae were sampled twice a month from September 2020 to November 2020. A total of 2185 Anopheles mosquito larvae were collected. Of those collected larvae three Anopheles species (Anopheles gambiae s.l. An. funestus and An. coustani complex) were identified. Anopheles gambiae s.l was the most abundant whereas An. funestus and An. coustani were the least in all the study kebeles. Of the three kebeles, Amba 47 was found the most productive for Anopheles followed by Amba 46 and Keshmando. The highest mean density of larvae per dip was sampled in September in all the study sites. The three sampling sites varied in physicochemical characteristics. The findings of this study showed that dissolved oxygen (DO) was highest (7.07 +/- 0.55 mg/L) in the swamps and lowest (0.32 +/- 0.04 mg/L) in the drainage ditches. Conductivity across different habitats showed wide variations. There were slight variations in temperature between different habitats. Higher total dissolved solids (TDS) 12.19 +/- 0.26 mg/L was recorded from the drainage ditches; whereas TDS 9.49 +/- 1.62 mg/L was recorded from the swamp. Salinity in the drainage ditches and stagnant water was 5.54 +/- 1.00PSU and 3.30 +/- 0.97 PSU respectively. There were negative strong correlation between the larval density with temperature and EC but positive correlation between larval density with salinity. However, there was no significant correlation between Anopheles larval density with TDS and DO. In conclusion this study suggested that environmental and physicochemical factors could play an important role in the development of mosquito larvae. Therefore, characterizing mosquito larval habitats is important for targeted control of malaria vectors in Ethiopia.

Automated summary

This study aimed to assess the species composition of Anopheles mosquitoes and determine the environmental and physicochemical parameters of their breeding habitats in Bambasi district, Ethiopia. The study identified three major Anopheles breeding habitats and found variations in species composition and physicochemical characteristics across different habitats. The study suggested that environmental and physicochemical factors play an important role in the development of mosquito larvae.