Estudo de preferências alimentares dos mosquitos anofelinos nos bairros da Matola "A" e Boane

Abstract

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was evaluated and stabilized for the first time in Mozambique to identify the origin of blood in newly fed anopheline mosquitoes, collected in the Matola "A" and Boane neighborhoods, on the outskirts of Maputo city, in 1996 and 1997. A total of 737 mosquitoes were collected by suction tube inside the houses, during the months of May and June 1996 and 1997, of which 104 were females of A.arabiensis and 580 of A.funestus. Of these, 69.2% (72/104) of A.arabiensis and 54.1% (314/580) of A.funestus were recently fed. The two species studied, A. arabiensis and A. funestus, proved to be anthropophagic, with human blood indexes (HBI) equal to 0.92(47/51) and 0.87(226/259) respectively. Using the values ​​of HBIs and other entomological parameters, the vectorial capacity of A. funestus and A. arabiensis in the study area was estimated. The vectorial capacity of A. arabiensis was 0.02 and of A. funestus 0.05, being moderate when compared to other highly endemic regions in southern Africa. The results obtained in this study illustrate that given the fact that the transmission potential is moderate in the Matola "A" and Boane neighborhoods, anti-vector control measures may have a significant impact on reducing the number of vectors.