The vectorial efficiency of Simulium yahense populations in south-eastern Ghana.

Adult female Simulium yahense were identified amongst catches of S. damnosum s. 1. caught at Tsatsadu Falls and Wegbe in south-eastern Ghana. Dissections of stained flies to assess the species' role as a vector of onchocerciasis in the region revealed as many as 357 L3 per 1000 biting flies in a sample from Wegbe. When the data from the two sites were combined 154 L3 per 1000 biting flies and 315 L3 per 1000 parous flies were recorded. The values for wet season samples were about 12% higher than those for the dry season. The results are discussed in relation to other studies of S. yahense populations and regarding the species' recent spread in Ghana and Togo.