Mosquito vectors of bancroftian filariasis in Kwale District, Kenya

A total of 2,906 female mosquitoes were collected over a period of one year using pyrethrum spray-sheet and human bait methods, and dissected for filaria larvae in three hinterland villages of coastal Kenya. The dominant species, Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus were also found to be the main vectors. From the spray catch collections 0,9 and 1 Cx. quinquefasciatus, An. gambiae and An. funestus out of 491, 708 and 403 respectively were infective. In the same order, 4, 2 and 2 out of 512, 196 and 180 from human bait collections were infective. The results indicate that Cx.quinquefasciatus is also an important vector in this area contrary to some previous findings that it played no important role in rural hinterland areas. Differences in the results from the human bait and spray catch methods have been pointed out and the advantage of using both methods in filarial surveys indicated.