Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Nov 25;12(1):557.
doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3797-9.

Anopheles cinereus implicated as a vector of malaria transmission in the highlands of north-west Ethiopia

Wossenseged Lemma  1   2 , Kassahune Alemu  3 , Meserete Birhanie  4 , Ligabaw Worku  4 , Julie Niedbalski  5 , Mary Ann McDowell  6 , Neil F Lobo  5
Affiliations

Anopheles cinereus implicated as a vector of malaria transmission in the highlands of north-west Ethiopia

Wossenseged Lemma et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: Transmission of malaria in the highlands of Ethiopia is poorly understood and usually attributed to importation by mobile populations or local transmission by Anopheles arabiensis. To characterize and identify Anopheles species present in a highland area of northern Ethiopia, adult and larval collections were performed in Gondar town and the neighboring Senbet Debir village (Dembia district, > 2000 meters above sea level, masl), in addition to Bahir Dar town (capital of Amhara region) and Kumer Aftit village (Metema district, < 2000 masl).

Methods: CDC-light traps were used to collect adult mosquitoes and larval collections were performed from rain pools for rearing into adults for species identification. Collections were made September-March 2016-2018. Adult mosquitoes were identified morphologically and a subset of randomly chosen specimens were identified to species by sequencing the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region 2 (ITS2) and mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1).

Results: The primary species of Anopheles identified at elevations higher than 2000 masl was An. cinereus, which was confirmed molecularly by ITS2 and cox1 sequencing. Interestingly, two unknown species were also sequenced, in addition to two specimens of An. pretoriensis. The species collected at sites with elevations less than 2000 masl (Bahir Dar town and Kumer Aftit village) was An. arabiensis. Three Plasmodium falciparum-positive specimens were identified molecularly as An. cinereus.

Conclusions: The presence of Plasmodium-positive An. cinereus in areas greater than 2000 masl incriminates this species as a potential vector contributing to non-peak malaria transmission in Ethiopian highland areas.

Keywords: Anopheles; Ethiopia; Malaria; Residual transmission.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Elevation map of Amhara region, Ethiopia, depicting the 4 sites: Site 1, Gondar; Site 2, Senbet Debir; Site 3, Kumer Aftit; and Site 4, Bahir Dar
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Lindsay SW, Martens WJ. Malaria in the African high-lands: past, present and future. WHO Bull. 1998;761998:33–45. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Checchi F, Cox J, Balkan S, Tamrat A, Priotto G, Alberti KP, et al. Malaria epidemics and interventions, Kenya, Burundi, southern Sudan, and Ethiopia, 1999–2004. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:1477–1485. doi: 10.3201/eid1210.060540. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hurni H. Degradation and conservation of soil resources in the Ethiopian highlands. In: Hurni H, Messerli B, editors. African mountains and highlands: problems and perspectives. Missouri: Wadsworth Press; 1990. pp. 51–63.
    1. Siraj AS, Santos-Vega M, Bouma MJ, Yadeta D, Ruiz Carrascal D, Pascual M. Altitudinal changes in malaria incidence in highlands of Ethiopia and Colombia. Science. 2014;343:1154–1158. doi: 10.1126/science.1244325. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tilaye T, Deressa W. Prevalence of urban malaria and assocated factors in Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia. Ethiop Med J. 2007;45(2):151–158. - PubMed