International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), P.O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
Parasit Vectors. 2019 Feb 11;12(1):80. doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3332-z.
In Kenya, malaria remains a major public health menace equally affecting the semi-arid to arid ecologies. However, entomologic knowledge of malaria vectors in such areas remains poor.
Morphologically-identified wild-caught Anopheles funestus (s.l.) specimens trapped outdoors from the semi-arid to arid area of Kacheliba, West Pokot County, Kenya, were analysed by PCR and sequencing for species identification, malaria parasite infection and host blood-meal sources.
Three hundred and thirty specimens were analysed to identify sibling species of the An. funestus group, none of which amplified using the available primers; two were infected with Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium ovale, separately, while 84% (n = 25) of the blood-fed specimens had fed on humans. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequences of 55 specimens (Plasmodium-positive, blood-fed and Plasmodium-negative) did not match reference sequences, possibly suggesting a previously unreported species, resolving as two clades.
Our findings indicate the existence of yet-to-be identified and described anopheline species with a potential as malaria vectors in Kenya.
在肯尼亚，疟疾仍然是一个主要的公共卫生威胁，同样影响半干旱到干旱生态系统。然而，这些地区的疟疾媒介昆虫的昆虫学知识仍然很差。
从肯尼亚西波科特县卡切利巴的半干旱到干旱地区野外捕获的形态学鉴定的野生捕获的按蚊（s.l.）标本，通过 PCR 和测序进行种系鉴定、疟原虫感染和宿主血液来源分析。
分析了 330 个标本，以鉴定按蚊属的姐妹种，但没有一种能使用现有引物扩增；两种分别感染恶性疟原虫和卵形疟原虫，而 84%（n=25）的吸血标本吸食人类血液。55 个（疟原虫阳性、吸血和疟原虫阴性）标本的线粒体细胞色素 c 氧化酶亚基 1（cox1）和核核糖体内部转录间隔区 2（ITS2）序列与参考序列不匹配，可能提示存在一种以前未报告的物种，分为两个分支。
我们的研究结果表明，肯尼亚可能存在尚未被识别和描述的、具有潜在疟疾媒介作用的按蚊种。
