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Malaria Vectors in Areas of Plasmodium falciparum Epidemic Transmission in the Amazon Region, Brazil

The main vectors of malaria in Brazil are Anopheles darlingi, An. aquasalis, and some species of the An. albitarsis complex, whereas others have questionable importance with regard to the disease transmission. To identify these vectors in the State of Pará, Brazil, in a high-prevalence P. falciparum area, 565 anophelines were captured and identified while the seasonal variation and daily biting activity were determined. Of the seven anopheline species (An. strodei, An. albitarsis s.l., An. rondoni, An. darlingi, An. triannulatus, An. oswaldoi, and An. nuneztovari), the plasmodia circumsporozoite protein (CSP) was detected in three of them, with a total infection rate of 6.2%. An. darlingi was the most prevalent species (22.4%), followed by An. albitarsis (5.2%) and An. rondoni (3.6%). An. rondoni was found to be infected for the first time, which was also confirmed through PCR. This result possibly represents a new malaria vector based on its highest frequency, biting and seasonal activities in the peak of malaria transmission.

Received June 13, 2005. Accepted for publication January 21, 2008.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank FAPEMIG for financial support, the Fundação Nacional de Sa úde (FUNASA) for technical assistance during mosquito field collections, Maria Anice M. Sallum and Simon Luke Elliot for a critical review of the manuscript, and Marino R. F. Barbosa for technical help with the PCR analysis. We are grateful to the community of Maraba for volunteer participation.

^* Address correspondence to Antoniana Ursine Krettli, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, FIOCRUZ, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil, 30190-002. E-mail: akrettli{at}cpqrr.fiocruz.br

Authors’ addresses: José Almir M. daRocha, Laboratory of Parasitology, Universidade Federal do Pará, Av. Augusto Correa, 01, CEP 66075-000, Belém, PA, Brazil, E-mail: jrocha{at}ufpa.br; and Laboratório de Malária, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, FIOCRUZ. Av. Augusto de Lima 1715, CEP 30190-002, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Marinete M. Póvoa, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secção de Parasitologia, SVS/MS, Belém, PA, Brazil. Sabrina B. de Oliveira, Laboratório de Malária, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, FIOCRUZ. Av. Augusto de Lima 1715, CEP 30190-002, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Luciano A. Moreira, Laboratório de Malária, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, FIOCRUZ. Av. Augusto de Lima 1715, CEP 30190-002, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Antoniana U. Krettli, Laboratório de Malária, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, FIOCRUZ. Av. Augusto de Lima 1715, CEP 30190-002, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, E-mail: akrettli{at}cpqrr.fiocruz.br.