Yousif E. Himeidan

Mosquito larval source management (LSM) is likely to be more effective when adequate information such as dominant species, seasonal abundance, type of productive habitat, and land use type are available for targeted sites. LSM has been an effective strategy for reducing malaria morbidity in both urban and rural areas in Africa where sufficient proportions of larval habitats can be targeted. In this study, we conducted longitudinal larval source surveillance in the western Kenya highlands, generating data which can be used to establish cost-effective targeted intervention tools. One hundred and twenty-four (124) positive larval habitats were monitored weekly and sampled for mosquito larvae over the 85-week period from 28 July 2009 to 3 March 2011. Two villages in the western Kenya highlands, Mbale and Iguhu, were included in the study. After preliminary sampling, habitats were classified into four types: hoof prints (n = 21; 17 % of total), swamps (n = 32; 26 %), abandoned goldmines (n = 35; 28 %) and drainage ditches (n = 36; 29 %). Positive habitats occurred in two land use types: farmland (66) and pasture (58). No positive larval habitats occurred in shrub land or forest. A total of 46,846 larvae were sampled, of which 44.1 % (20,907) were from abandoned goldmines, 30.9 % (14,469) from drainage ditches, 22.4 % (10,499) from swamps and 2.1 % (971) from hoof prints. In terms of land use types, 57.2 % (26,799) of the sampled larvae were from pasture and 42.8 % (20,047) were from farmland. Of the specimens identified morphologically, 24,583 (52.5 %) were Anopheles gambiae s.l., 11,901 (25.4 %) were Culex quinquefasciatus, 5628 (12 %) were An. funestus s.l. and 4734 (10.1 %) were other anopheline species (An. coustani, An. squamosus, An. ziemanni or An. implexus). Malaria vector dynamics varied seasonally, with An.gambiae s.s. dominating during wet season and An.arabiensis during dry season. An increased proportion of An. arabiensis was observed compared to previous studies. These results suggest that long-term monitoring of larval habitats can establish effective surveillance systems and tools. Additionally, the results suggest that larval control is most effective in the dry season due to habitat restriction, with abandoned goldmines, drainage ditches and swamps being the best habitats to target. Both farmland and pasture should be targeted for effective larval control. An increased proportion of An. arabiensis in the An. gambiae complex was noticed in this study for the very first time in the western Kenya highlands; hence, further control tools should be in place for effective control of An. arabiensis.

East African highlands are one of the most populated regions in Africa. The population densities in the highlands ranged between 158 persons/km² in Ethiopia and 410 persons/km² in Rwanda. According to the United Nations Population Fund, the region has the world's highest population growth rate. These factors are likely behind the high rates of poverty among the populations. As there were no employment opportunities other than agricultural, this demographic pressure of poor populations have included in an extensive unprecedented land use and land cover changes such as modification of bushland, woodland, and grassland on hillsides to farmland and transformation of papyrus swamps in valley bottoms to dairy pastures and cropland and changing of fallows on hillsides from short or seasonal to longer or perennial. Areas harvested for food crops were therefore increased by more than 100% in most of the highlands. The lost of forest areas, mainly due to subsistence agriculture, between 1990 and 2010 ranged between 8000 ha in Rwanda and 2,838,000 ha in Ethiopia. These unmitigated environmental changes in the highlands led to rise temperature and optimizing the spread and survival of malaria vectors and development of malaria parasites. Malaria in highlands was initially governed by low ambient temperature, trend of malaria transmission was therefore increased and several epidemics were observed in late 1980s and early 2000s. Although, malaria is decreasing through intensified interventions since mid 2000s onwards, these environmental changes might expose population in the highlands of east Africa to an increase risk of malaria and its epidemic particularly if the current interventions are not sustained.

Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) have been strongly advocated for use to prevent malaria in sub-Saharan Africa and have significantly reduced human-vector contact. PermaNet® 2.0 is among the five LLINs brands which have been given full approval by the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES). The LLINs are expected to protect the malaria endemic communities, but a number of factors within the community can affect their durability and efficacy. This study evaluated the durability, efficacy and retention of PermaNet® 2.0 after five years of use in a Tanzanian community.

The distribution of insecticide treated nets (ITN) has been dramatically scaled up in eastern and central Sudan. Resistance to insecticides has already been reported in this region and there is an urgent need to develop appropriate resistance management strategies, which requires detailed information on the extent and causes of resistance. This study assessed resistance to permethrin and DDT in seven populations of Anopheles arabiensis from Sudan.

Understanding malaria vector mosquitoes and their infectivity dynamics is of importance in setting up intervention and control programmes. Patterns of malaria transmission have been shown to differ between non-irrigated and irrigated semi-arid areas of eastern Sudan. However, very little information is available regarding malaria transmission dynamics along the seasonal river's basin. Such information is required for the design of effective vector control strategies.

Anopheles arabiensis breeding was studied during March 1999-June 2000 in New Halfa town. Of 3642 anopheline larvae collected, 3633 (99.75%) were A. arabiensis: 82.49%, 11.56%, 3.08% and 2.88% of the larvae were collected from shallow sunlit pools resulting from pipes leakages, rain pools, irrigation canals and man-made pools respectively. The overall mean density was 24.34 larvae/10 dips: 40.73 during the rainy season, 30.45 during irrigation and 13.10 in the dry season. Water for crop cultivation increased the relative humidity (P = 0.013) and both factors enhanced A. arabiensis breeding (P < 0.005). There was no significant difference between the rainy and irrigation seasons. A. arabiensis breeding in this area has become perennial as a result of crop irrigation.

Assessment of resistance to DDT and permethrin insecticides and molecular detection of knockdown resistance (kdr) alleles were conducted in three populations of Anopheles arabiensis from eastern Sudan. Bioassay mortalities ranged from 96.9% to 99.6% for 4% DDT and from 98.4% to 100% for 1% permethrin. The L1014F and L1014S alleles were detected in 25 of 498 mosquitoes. The overall kdr frequencies ranged from 7.0% in the area where insecticide-treated nets were used to 3.0% in the area with agricultural insecticide use. The presence of the kdr alleles in An. arabiensis in Sudan emphasizes the need to develop appropriate resistance monitoring and management strategies for An. arabiensis.