Anopheles melas infestation rate for Plasmodium falciparum in the coastal and lagoon area of Benin, West Africa.

In this article An. melas infestation rate for P. falciparum is compared to the rate of An. gambiae in the coastal and lagoon area of Benin where the two species are sympatric. We studied the variation of An. gambiae complex infestation rate in three zones where the two species occur in different pr oportions. This infestation rate is higher in areas where An. gambiae is pr evalent. In a second experiment we separated An. melas and An. gambiae acco rding to cytogenetic and biometrical analysis. Then we established the infe station rate of each species by microscope examination of salivary glands a nd presence of P. falciparum C.S. antigens by ELISA method. In areas where An. melas is the most abundant species (80-90% the sporozoit ic index and antigen C.S. + P. falciparum rate are significantly lower. The se results are confirmed by the infestation rates observed for each species . In conclusion, An. melas infestation rate is significantly lower than the A n. gambiae one. An. gambiae is the best malaria vector in Africa. in spite of an environment such as Ganvie where animals are rare, which increases an thropophilic and endophilic tendancies of An. melas, antigens CS P, falcipa rum rate of An. gambiae (3.5%) are significantly higher than An. melas (1.9 %).