Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, I Ishikawa, 920-1192, Japan.
J Med Entomol. 2010 Jan;47(1):28-31. doi: 10.1603/033.047.0104.
Anopheles gambiae is the predominant malaria vector species in Ghana, western Africa, with a strong local presence of Anopheles melas Theobald along the southern coast. We studied the biting behavior of these two species of the Anopheles gambiae complex inland and at the coast in Ghana, with special attention to the local peoples' preference for outdoor sleeping. We collected mosquitoes at two sites in 2007, representing the moist semideciduous forest zone and the strand and mangrove zone, and the sampling was repeated in the dry and rainy seasons. Sampled mosquitoes were examined for species, parity and size (wing length), and we identified the hosts of their bloodmeals. We interviewed 288 of the village people to determine where and when they slept outdoors. Our study confirmed that An. gambiae is the only species of the An. gambiae complex in the Ashanti region and revealed that An. melas is highly dominant on the western coast of Ghana. Both species showed high human blood rates in indoor resting mosquito samples. More people sleep outside on the coast than inland. An. melas demonstrated high exophily. An. gambiae bit people more frequently indoors and did so more often during the dry season than in the rainy season. We suggest that the degree of exophily in An. melas may be affected by humidity and the availability of human as well as by the mosquitoes' innate habits.
冈比亚按蚊是加纳西部非洲主要的疟疾传播媒介，在南部沿海地区有强烈的本地存在的淡色库蚊。我们研究了这两种冈比亚按蚊复合体在加纳内陆和沿海的叮咬行为，特别关注当地居民对户外睡眠的偏好。我们在 2007 年的两个地点收集了蚊子，代表了湿润的半落叶林带和沙滩和红树林带，并在旱季和雨季重复了采样。采集的蚊子被检查了种类、胎次和大小（翅长），并确定了它们吸血的宿主。我们采访了 288 名村民，以确定他们何时何地在户外睡觉。我们的研究证实，冈比亚按蚊是阿散蒂地区冈比亚按蚊复合体的唯一物种，并表明淡色库蚊在加纳西海岸高度占优势。两种蚊子在室内休息的蚊子样本中都表现出很高的人血率。海岸上比内陆有更多的人在户外睡觉。淡色库蚊表现出高度的嗜人习性。冈比亚按蚊在室内叮咬人的频率更高，而且在旱季比雨季更频繁。我们认为，淡色库蚊的嗜人程度可能受到湿度以及人类和蚊子固有习惯的影响。
