Kweyamba Prisca A, Hofer Lorenz M, Kibondo Ummi A, Mwanga Rehema Y, Sayi Rajabu M, Matwewe Fatuma, Lwetoijera Dickson W, Tambwe Mgeni M, Moore Sarah J
Environmental Health and Ecological Sciences Department, Ifakara Health Institute, P.O. Box 74, Bagamoyo, Tanzania.
Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Kreuzstrasse 2, 4123, Allschwil, Switzerland.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 17;15(1):2286. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-86409-w.
There are three Anopheles mosquito species in East Africa that are responsible for the majority of malaria transmission, posing a significant public health concern. Understanding the vector competence of different mosquito species is crucial for targeted and cost-effective malaria control strategies. This study investigated the vector competence of laboratory reared strains of East African An. gambiae sensu stricto, An. funestus s.s., and An. arabiensis mosquitoes towards local isolates of Plasmodium falciparum infection. Mosquito feeding assays using gametocytaemic blood from local donors revealed significant differences in both prevalence and intensity of oocyst and sporozoite infections among the three vectors. An. funestus mosquitoes presented the highest sporozoite prevalence 23.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 17.5-29.6) and intensity of infection 6-58138 sporozoites. Relative to An. funestus, the odds ratio for sporozoites prevalence were 0.46 (95% CI 0.25-0.85) in An. gambiae and 0.19 (95% CI 0.07-0.51) in An. arabiensis, while the incidence rate ratio for sporozoite intensity was 0.31 (95% CI 0.14-0.69) in An. gambiae and 0.66 (95% CI 0.16-2.60) in An. arabiensis. Our findings indicate that all three malaria vector species may contribute to malaria transmission in East Africa, with An. funestus demonstrating superior vector competence. In conclusion, there is a need for comprehensive malaria control strategies targeting major malaria vector species, an update of malaria transmission models to consider vector competence and evaluation of malaria transmission blocking interventions in assays that include An. funestus mosquitoes.
东非有三种按蚊，它们导致了大部分疟疾传播，构成了重大的公共卫生问题。了解不同蚊种的媒介能力对于有针对性且具成本效益的疟疾控制策略至关重要。本研究调查了实验室饲养的东非冈比亚按蚊指名亚种、嗜人按蚊指名亚种和阿拉伯按蚊品系对当地恶性疟原虫感染分离株的媒介能力。使用来自当地献血者的配子体血症血液进行的蚊子喂食试验显示，这三种媒介在卵囊和子孢子感染的流行率和强度方面存在显著差异。嗜人按蚊呈现出最高的子孢子流行率，为23.5%（95%置信区间（CI）17.5 - 29.6），感染强度为6 - 58138个子孢子。相对于嗜人按蚊，冈比亚按蚊子孢子流行率的优势比为0.46（95%CI 0.25 - 0.85），阿拉伯按蚊为0.19（95%CI 0.07 - 0.51），而冈比亚按蚊子孢子强度的发病率比为0.31（95%CI 0.14 - 0.69），阿拉伯按蚊为0.66（95%CI 0.16 - 2.60）。我们的研究结果表明，所有这三种疟疾媒介物种都可能在东非的疟疾传播中起作用，其中嗜人按蚊表现出更强的媒介能力。总之，需要针对主要疟疾媒介物种制定全面的疟疾控制策略，更新疟疾传播模型以考虑媒介能力，并在包括嗜人按蚊的试验中评估疟疾传播阻断干预措施。
