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. 2009 Jul;81(1):5-12.

Linking deforestation to malaria in the Amazon: characterization of the breeding habitat of the principal malaria vector, Anopheles darlingi

Amy Y Vittor  1 , William Pan, Robert H Gilman, James Tielsch, Gregory Glass, Tim Shields, Wagner Sánchez-Lozano, Viviana V Pinedo, Erit Salas-Cobos, Silvia Flores, Jonathan A Patz
Affiliations

Linking deforestation to malaria in the Amazon: characterization of the breeding habitat of the principal malaria vector, Anopheles darlingi

Amy Y Vittor et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Jul.

Abstract

This study examined the larval breeding habitat of a major South American malaria vector, Anopheles darlingi, in areas with varying degrees of ecologic alteration in the Peruvian Amazon. Water bodies were repeatedly sampled across 112 km of transects along the Iquitos-Nauta road in ecologically varied areas. Field data and satellite imagery were used to determine the landscape composition surrounding each site. Seventeen species of Anopheles larvae were collected. Anopheles darlingi larvae were present in 87 of 844 sites (10.3%). Sites with A. darlingi larvae had an average of 24.1% forest cover, compared with 41.0% for sites without A. darlingi (P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis identified seasonality, algae, water body size, presence of human populations, and the amount of forest and secondary growth as significant determinants of A. darlingi presence. We conclude that deforestation and associated ecologic alterations are conducive to A. darlingi larval presence, and thereby increase malaria risk.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of the study area. This figure appears in color at www.ajtmh.org.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Bodies of water in forest, (B) secondary growth, (C) grass/crop land, and (D) fish farm (aguaje palm depicted center-left). This figure appears in color at www.ajtmh.org
Figure 3
Figure 3
Predicted probability (adjusted variable plot) of A. darlingi larvae presence by percent Forest Cover and Secondary Growth on a 1 × 1 km grid surrounding a site. Land use is graphed according to its approximate range in the data: Forest cover ranges from 0.75% to 93%; Secondary growth ranges from 1% to 47%.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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