Characteristics of malaria vector breeding habitats in Sri Lanka: relevance for environmental management.

In and around a village in the Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka anopheline larvae were sampled from July 1994 to April 1996 in all surface water bodies. Samples positive for Anopheles culicifacies, the established vector of malaria in Sri Lanka, and for An. barbirostris, An. vagus, and An. varuna, potential secondary vectors, were characterized by site, exposure to sunlight, substratum, turbidity of the water, presence of vegetation, and presence of fauna. Availability of pools of stagnant water in the stream near the village and along the edge of the village tank was highly predictive for presence of An. culicifacies larvae, independent from the other characteristics that were included in the study. The biological and physical characteristics could not very well explain the preference for certain habitats, but it was of interest that An. culicifacies, generally considered to bread in sun exposed clear water pools, was able to exploit habitats that were shaded and contained turbid water. Environmental management interventions to control An. culicifacies breeding have to take into account that the secondary vectors of malaria exploit other habitats and would not be affected by the interventions.