Larval habitat, ecology, seasonal abundance and vectorial role in malaria transmission of Anopheles arabiensis in Jazan Region of Saudi Arabia.

Studies on the ecology and role in malaria transmission of the local anopheline fauna of An. arabiensis, was undertaken at the Red Sea coastal plain, the Tihama, in Saudi Arabia, an area of moderate malaria endemicity. Studies were carried out over a 13 months period from March 2007, by larval collection and by adult collection using pyrethrum knockdown (PKD), and CDC light-traps at 9 s sites. In total 479,520 mosquitoes of 14 species collected seven anopheles species were identified: An. gambiae s.l Giles, An. dthali Patton, An. pretoriensis Theobald, An. sergentii Theobald, An. multicolour, An. rhodesiensis rupicola Lewis, and An. turkhudi Liston. An. gambiae was the most predominant species. An. arabiensis Patton was identified by PCR as the only member of the An. gambiae complex present. A survey of mosquito breeding sites showed that suitable sites for both An. arabiensis and other anophelines existed all year round. Larvae of An. arabiensis, An. dthali and An. pretoriensis were found every month. In addition to the more typical breeding sites, An. arabiensis larvae were found in rock pools and in domestic water containers and tanks. An. arabiensis was the predominant anopheline species found resting in human habitations but despite its endophily, only 40% bloodmeals were of human origin. The source(s) of the remainder was (were) unknown. Despite its predominance in larval collections, few adult An., dthali and An. pretoriensis were caught in PKD, indicating a zoophilic preference. Other anophelines were rarely found. Sporozoite rate in An. arabiensis was 0.61%, based on 21 posities. None was found in others.