Relationship between body size of adult Anopheles gambiae s.l. and infection with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

• Published in: Parasitology Vol. 104 ( Pt 2); p. 233
• Main Authors: Lyimo, E O, Koella, J C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-04-1992
• Subjects: Animals; Anopheles - anatomy & histology; Anopheles - parasitology; Female; Host-Parasite Interactions; Humans; Insect Vectors - anatomy & histology; Insect Vectors - parasitology; Malaria, Falciparum - transmission; Plasmodium falciparum - physiology; Regression Analysis; Wings, Animal - anatomy & histology
• ISSN: 0031-1820
• DOI: 10.1017/S0031182000061667

The influence of adult female body size of Anopheles gambiae s.l. on development of midgut and salivary gland infections by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum was investigated in a field study carried out in Tanzania. The proportion of mosquitoes infected during a blood meal was independent of size. However, the number of oocysts harboured by infected mosquitoes increased with size of the mosquito. The proportion of mosquitoes with sporozoites, and thus potentially infective to humans, was highest in intermediate-sized mosquitoes, whereas the largest and smallest mosquitoes were less likely to have sporozoites. This pattern is interpreted as a combination of high survival rate of large, uninfected mosquitoes and of low survival rate of mosquitoes infected with many oocysts.