Comparisons of human-landing catches and odor-baited entry traps for sampling malaria vectors in Senegal

A comparative study of human-landing catches (HLCs) and odor-baited entry traps (OBETs) for sampling malaria vectors was conducted in two different bioclimatic areas of Senegal, the Sahelian and Sudano-Guinean phytogeographic zones, from September to December 2002. Mosquitoes were collected by the two methods both indoors and outdoors. The reliability of OBET samples was tested by comparing the two methods. Overall, HLC was more effective indoors and for surveying the anopheline fauna. Both methods were effective in sampling the four known malaria vectors in Senegal [Anopheles gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis Patton, An. funestus Giles, and An. nili (Theobald) ], and mosquito age structures and infectivity rates did not differ between methods.