MALARIA INFECTION POTENTIAL OF ANOPHELINE MOSQUITOS SAMPLED BY LIGHT TRAPPING INDOORS IN COASTAL TANZANIAN VILLAGES

Anopheline mosquito populations were studied during 1992 in seven vill ages south of Bagamoyo, coastal Tanzania, prior to malaria control int ervention using insecticide treated bednets. To collect mosquitoes, CD C light traps were used in ten houses per village fortnightly for 12 m onths. Anopheles females were identified and checked by ELISA for the presence of malaria sporozoite antigen and source of bloodmeal. An.fun estus peaked in June-July after the long rains. Three members of the A n.gambiae complex had different seasonality: An.arabiensis, An.gambiae and small numbers of An.merus were collected. In most villages transm ission was extremely high and perennial with the entomological inocula tion rate reaching three to eleven infective bites per person per nigh t in July and persisting at around 0.1 and 1 for most of the remainder of the year. Sporozoite infection rates within the An.gambiae complex ranged from 2% to 25%, with the peaks in January and July following t he two rainy periods. An.funestus showed a similar pattern. The light traps were reliable, simple to operate, and proved to be satisfactory to study the mosquito vector population.