%0 Journal Article
%T Patterns and seasonality of malaria transmission in the forest-savannah transitional zones of Ghana
%A Dominic B Dery
%A Charles Brown
%A Kwaku Asante
%A Mohammed Adams
%A David Dosoo
%A Seeba Amenga-Etego
%A Mike Wilson
%A Daniel Chandramohan
%A Brian Greenwood
%A Seth Owusu-Agyei
%J Malaria Journal
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1475-2875-9-314
%X A total of 23,406 mosquitoes were caught from 919 traps over the two-year period (November 2003 to November 2005): 54.3% were Culicines, 36.2% Anopheles funestus, and 9.4% Anopheles gambiae. Infection rates with Plasmodium falciparum were 4.7% and 1.5% for Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus, respectively. Entomological inoculation rates (EIRs) were 269 infective bites per person per year in the first year (November 2003-October 2004) and 231 the following year (November 2004-November 2005). Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analysis detected only Anopheles gambiae s.s. Nineteen mosquitoes were tested by PCR in the wet season; 16 were S-molecular form, 2 M-molecular form and 1 hybrid (S/M). In the dry season, sixteen mosquitoes were tested; 11 S-molecular form, 2 M-molecular form and 3 S/M hybrids. The frequency of knock down resistance (kdr) genotypes F(R) was 0.60.The dynamics and seasonal abundance of malaria vectors in the Kintampo area was influenced by micro-ecology, rainfall and temperature patterns. Transmission patterns did not differ significantly between the two years (2004 and 2005) and both Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus were identified as effective vectors. EIR estimates in 2004/2005 were between 231 and 269 infective bites per person per year. The information provided by the study will help in planning intensified malaria control activities as well as evaluating the impact of malaria interventions in the middle belt of Ghana.Malaria remains a major public health threat in sub-Saharan Africa as the most efficient vector, Anopheles gambiae s.l, continues to adapt to humans [1] and is a complex of sibling species taxa, thus resulting in a high vectorial capacity. The complex consists of seven species that vary in their ability to transmit malaria [2]. Currently known sibling species within the complex include An. gambiae s.s. Anopheles arabiensis, Anopheles melas, Anopheles merus, Anopheles quadrianulantus (A and B) and Anopheles bwambae. Th
%U http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/1/314