Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya.
Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Center for Geographic Medicine Coast, Kilifi, Kenya.
J Med Entomol. 2020 Nov 13;57(6):1972-1982. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaa109.
Culicine mosquitoes are vectors of human disease-causing pathogens like filarial worms and several arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). Currently, there has been an increase in emerging and re-emerging vector-borne diseases along coastal Kenya, which has been of major concern in public health. This study aimed at determining culicine mosquito species abundance, diversity and their host feeding preferences in Taita-Taveta County, Coastal Kenya. Entomological sampling was done during the long-wet season (March and May) and long dry season (June to October) 2016-2018. Mosquito sampling was done using CDC light traps and Backpack aspiration for indoor and outdoor environments. All culicine mosquitoes collected were identified morphologically and categorized according to their physiological status. Blood fed culicine mosquitoes were tested for bloodmeal sources using ELISA. In total, 3,278 culicine mosquitoes were collected, of which 738 (22.5 %) were found indoors and 2,540, (77.5 %) outdoors. The mosquitoes consisted of 18 species belonging to four genera: Aedes (7), Culex (8), Mansonia (2), and Coquillettidia (1). Overall, there was high mosquito species diversity (H) in outdoors (H = 2.4339) than in indoors (H = 2.2523), whereas even distribution (EH) was higher in indoors (EH = 0.9064) than outdoors (EH = 0.8266). Majorly the bloodmeals identified were from multiple host sources with (51.6%), single hosts (41.3%), and unidentified (7.2%). This study has demonstrated a high diversity of culicine mosquitoes with relaxed feeding tendencies. These mosquitoes are contributing to mosquito biting nuisance and the likelihood of exposure of populations to diseases of public health.
库蚊是人类致病病原体的媒介，如丝虫和几种节肢动物传播的病毒（虫媒病毒）。目前，肯尼亚沿海地区出现了越来越多的新出现和重新出现的媒介传播疾病，这引起了人们对公共卫生的极大关注。本研究旨在确定肯尼亚沿海的塔伊塔-塔韦塔县库蚊的物种丰富度、多样性及其对宿主的摄食偏好。在 2016-2018 年的长湿季（3 月和 5 月）和长旱季（6 月至 10 月）进行了昆虫学抽样。使用 CDC 诱蚊灯和背包吸气器对室内和室外环境进行了蚊子抽样。收集到的所有库蚊都进行了形态学鉴定，并根据其生理状态进行了分类。用 ELISA 法检测吸血库蚊的血食来源。共收集到 3278 只库蚊，其中 738 只（22.5%）在室内发现，2540 只（77.5%）在室外发现。这些蚊子由四个属的 18 种组成：Aedes（7）、Culex（8）、Mansonia（2）和 Coquillettidia（1）。总的来说，室外蚊子的物种多样性（H）较高（H=2.4339），而室内蚊子的物种多样性（H=2.2523）较低，而室内蚊子的均匀分布（EH）较高（EH=0.9064），而室外蚊子的均匀分布（EH=0.8266）较低。主要的血液来源是多宿主（51.6%）、单宿主（41.3%）和未鉴定宿主（7.2%）。本研究表明，库蚊具有高度的多样性，摄食倾向较为随意。这些蚊子造成了蚊子叮咬的困扰，并使人群更容易接触到公共卫生疾病。
