High heterogeneity in the number of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes in the bloodmeal of mosquitoes fed on the same host

To investigate the quantitative distribution of Plasmodium falciparum gamet ocytes into the vector bloodmeal, Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes were fed on 3 volunteers naturally infected with grametocytes. The content of each m osquito midgut was smeared on a microscope slide and Giemsa stained. The di stribution of gametocytes ingested by mosquitoes followed a negative binomi al distribution, with apparently constant overdispersion (parameter k+/-S.E . = 3.105+/-0.392) fur thr 3 series. This aggregation of gametocytes in som e midguts probably facilitates the conjunction of gametes and fertilization . This suggests that P. falciparum gametocytes in the peripheral blood flow of infected man do not follow an independent, homogeneous pattern but show a significant aggregation.