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. 2014 Aug 4;9(8):e103769.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103769. eCollection 2014.

Malaria vectors in ecologically heterogeneous localities of the Colombian Pacific region

Nelson Naranjo-Díaz  1 , Mariano Altamiranda  1 , Shirley Luckhart  2 , Jan E Conn  3 , Margarita M Correa  1
Affiliations

Malaria vectors in ecologically heterogeneous localities of the Colombian Pacific region

Nelson Naranjo-Díaz et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The Colombian Pacific region is second nationally in number of malaria cases reported. This zone presents great ecological heterogeneity and Anopheles species diversity. However, little is known about the current spatial and temporal distribution of vector species. This study, conducted in three ecologically different localities of the Pacific region, aimed to evaluate the composition and distribution of Anopheles species and characterize transmission intensity. A total of 4,016 Anopheles mosquitoes were collected representing seven species. The composition and dominant species differed in each locality. Three species were infected with malaria parasites: Anopheles darlingi and An. calderoni were infected with Plasmodium falciparum and An. nuneztovari with Plasmodium vivax VK210 and VK247. Annual EIRs varied from 3.5-7.2 infective bites per year. These results confirm the importance of the primary vector An. nuneztovari in areas disturbed by human interventions, of An. darlingi in deforested margins of humid tropical rainforest and An. albimanus and the suspected vector An. calderoni in areas impacted by urbanization and large-scale palm oil agriculture close to the coast. This constitutes the first report in the Colombia Pacific region of naturally infected An. darlingi, and in Colombia of naturally infected An. calderoni. Further studies should evaluate the epidemiological importance of An. calderoni in the Pacific region.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Mosquito collection sites in PAC region.
San Antonio de Padua (SAP) in the municipality of Vigía del Fuerte, Antioquia Department; Zacarias (ZAC) in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca Department and Carbonera-Pindales (CAR-PIN) in San Andres de Tumaco, Nariño Department. Spotted line defines Pacific Region boundaries.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Characteristic of sampling sites.
San Antionio de Padua locality (SAP): Larval habitats A) originated from rice cultivation. B) pond in the forest border. Zacarias (ZAC): C) ZAC settlement and nearby river used for material extraction. D) Larval habitat - fishpond. E) Carbonera (CAR): Larval habitat - drainage channel. F) Pindales (PIN): oil-palm agriculture.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Relative abundance of the predominant species in relation to rainfall.
Localities: San Antonio de Padua (SAP), Zacarias (ZAC), Carbonera-Pindales (CAR-PIN). Left axis: human biting rate (HBR) or number of mosquitoes/person/night, right axis: rainfall expressed in mm. The underlined months indicate collection periods and ★ periods when infected Anopheles were detected.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Anopheles biting activity.
Biting activity is expressed as percentage of bites per human per hour. A. An. darlingi in San Antonio de Padua (SAP), B. An. nuneztovari in Zacarias (ZAC), C. An. calderoni in Carbonera-Pindales (CAR-PIN), D. An. albimanus in Carbonera-Pindales (CAR-PIN).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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