| dc.description.abstract | Mosquitoes belong to the family Culicidae, which is further subdivided into
subfamilies Anophilinae and Culicinae. As the vectors of malaria, species of
Anophelinae are considered as the most important of all mosquitoes. The subfamily
Anophelinae is comprised of three genera: Anopheles Meigen, which has a nearly
worldwide distribution, Bironella Theobald which is found in the Australasian
region, and the Neotropical Chagasia Cruz. Nearly 51 species of Anopheles have
been recorded from India. An. culicifacies, An. fluviatilis, An. minimus, An.
philippinensis, An. stephensi and An. sundaicus, are the primary vectors of malaria
in India. Besides, An.subpictus B has been reported to play an important role in
malaria transmission in different parts of the county. Several vector species have
been reported to exist as species complexes in various parts of the world including
India. Hence, their specific identification is very important in planning malaria
control strategies. Molecular techniques have been increasingly employed for this
purpose in recent years.
The present study dealt with morphological and molecular analysis of
Anopheles mosquitoes present in different localities of five North Kerala districts. 27
Anopheles species were recorded from Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad,
and Malappuram Districts. Out of these 10 species belonged to the subgenus
Anopheles, and 17 species to the subgenus Cellia. Of the 27 species, two species,
An. sundaicus and An. subpictus B are new records from Kerala. Besides, there are
several new records from individual districts. From Kasaragod district, An.
fluviatilis, and An. theobaldi were reported for the first time. From Kannur district
seven species of Anopheles were reported for the first time viz., An. crawfordi, An.
nigerrimus, An. nitidus, An. sinensis, An. theobaldi, An. dirus, and An. sudaicus.
Anopheles subpictus B, the most potent malaria vector was reported from Kozhikode
district for the first time. The present study also did the redescription of 27 species
that had been collected. Molecular analysis of four malarial vector species,
Anopheles culicifacies, Anopheles dirus, Anopheles stephensi, and Anopheles
subpictus was conducted in the present study. An. culicificies species complex was
resolved. The species prevalent in the study area was confirmed as Anopheles
culicifacies B. This was the first time such a study was done in Kerala. The study
also revealed the presence of Anopheles dirus D in the study area. The molecular
analysis of the subpictus complex revealed the presence of Anopheles subpictus B,
which is a piece of new information for the entire state. | en_US |
