Development of Plasmodium vivax in Anopheles superpictus under experimental conditions

The susceptibility of Anopheles superpictus for Plasmodium vivax was described quantitatively under laboratory conditions. Of the 697 laboratory females studied in 16 groups, 513 (73.5%) females took a bloodmeal, of which 88.4% developed ookinetes on day 1, 56.1% oocysts between days 3 and 11, and 52.5% sporozoites in the salivary gland on days 15 to 63 post-infection. Sporogony was completed in 10-11 days post-infection. There was no difference in the longevity of uninfected and infected females. Infected females survived an average of 30 days (maximum 63 days). Sporozoites survived up to 50 days in the salivary glands without any observable changes in structure and motility. These data indicate that An. superpictus is an efficient laboratory vector of P. vivax and should not be ignored in future entomological field studies.