Abundance, diversity, resting and blood- feeding behaviours of malaria vectors in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

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Résumé

Malaria remains a public health concern in Burkina Faso, as in most sub-Saharan African countries. A better control of Anopheles mosquito, vectors of this disease, requires an understanding of vector species composition and their behaviour. The study aims to identify malaria vector species, assess their resting behaviour, and evaluate their trophic preferences in Ouagadougou. Mosquitoes were collected indoors and outdoors using Prokopack aspirators in September 2022 from 200 households in the Zongo and 1200 Logements districts. Mosquitoes were morphologically sorted, species identification within Anopheles complex species, as well as the determination of the origin of the blood meal, were performed by PCR. Out of a total of 4,466 mosquitoes collected, 238 belonged to the Anopheles gambiae complex, including 99 males and 139 females. An. arabiensis was the predominant An. gambiae complex species with more than 86% (120/139), which species was significantly more collected outdoors (97/120) compared to indoors (χ2= 17.051; p<0.001). An. coluzzii was the second Anopheles gambiae complex species and represented 13.67% (19/139). The analysis of blood meal sources showed that both species fed on four hosts. Human exclusive blood meal represented 26.32% (5/19) of the total blood meal. The animal exclusive blood including dogs (15.79%), cows (15.79%), and pigs (5.26%) represented 36.84% (7/19). However, 36.84% (7/19) of the blood meals were mixed (human-animal). Although the study only covered two districts of Ouagadougou, the findings provide valuable information that can strengthen and guide the fight against anopheles in urban areas, by targeting the predominant vector, An. arabiensis .

Mots-clés

Malaria, Anopheles diversity, Blood-feeding and resting behaviour, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso