title: The abundance and host-seeking behavior of culicine species (Diptera: Culicidae) and Anopheles sinensis in Yongcheng city, People's Republic of China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The knowledge of mosquito species diversity and the level of anthropophily exhibited by each species in a region are of great importance to the integrated vector control. Culicine species are the primary vectors of Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus and filariasis in China. Anopheles sinensis plays a major role in the maintenance of Plasmodium vivax malaria transmission in China. The goal of this study was to compare the abundance and host-seeking behavior of culicine species and An. sinensis in Yongcheng city, a representative region of P. vivax malaria. Specifically, we wished to determine the relative attractiveness of different animal baits versus human bait to culicine species and An. sinensis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Culex tritaeniorhynchus was the most prevalent mosquito species and An. sinensis was the sole potential vector of P. vivax malaria in Yongcheng city. There were significant differences (P < 0.01) in the abundance of both An. sinensis and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus collected in distinct baited traps. The relative attractiveness of animal versus human bait was similar towards both An. sinensis and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus. The ranking derived from the mean number of mosquitoes per bait indicated that pigs, goats and calves frequently attracted more mosquitoes than the other hosts tested (dogs, humans, and chickens). These trends were similar across all capture nights at three distinct villages. The human blood index (HBI) of female An. sinensis was 2.94% when computed with mixed meals while 3.70% computed with only the single meal. 19:00~21:00 was the primary peak of host-seeking female An. sinensis while 4:00~5:00 was the smaller peak at night. There was significant correlation between the density of female An. sinensis and the average relative humidity (P < 0.05) in Wangshanzhuang village.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pigs, goats and calves were more attractive to An. sinensis and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus than dogs, humans, and chickens. Female An. sinensis host-seeking activity mainly occurred from 19:00 to 21:00. Thus, we propose that future vector control against An. sinensis and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the areas along the Huang-Huai River of central China should target the interface of human activity with domestic animals and adopt before human hosts go to bed at night.
authors: State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, China CDC Key Laboratory of Surveillance and Early-Warning on Infectious Disease, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
authors: Xiao-Bo
authors: XB
authors: Liu
authors: Qi-Yong
authors: QY
authors: Liu
authors: Yu-Hong
authors: YH
authors: Guo
authors: Jing-Yi
authors: JY
authors: Jiang
authors: Dong-Sheng
authors: DS
authors: Ren
authors: Guang-Chao
authors: GC
authors: Zhou
authors: Can-Jun
authors: CJ
authors: Zheng
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: Jing-Li
authors: JL
authors: Liu
authors: Zhi-Fang
authors: ZF
authors: Li
authors: Yun
authors: Y
authors: Chen
authors: Hong-Sheng
authors: HS
authors: Li
authors: Lindsay C
authors: LC
authors: Morton
authors: Hua-Zhong
authors: HZ
authors: Li
authors: Qun
authors: Q
authors: Li
authors: Wei-Dong
authors: WD
authors: Gu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000502:physiology*; D002417:Cattle; D002645:Chickens; D002681:China; D009033:Culicidae / Q000502:physiology*; D004285:Dogs; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006041:Goats; D006801:Humans; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D013552:Swine