title: Malaria entomological risk factors in relation to land cover in the Lower Caura River Basin, Venezuela.
abstract: To explore the effects of deforestation and resulting differences in vegetation and land cover on entomological parameters, such as anopheline species composition, abundance, biting rate, parity and entomological inoculation rate (EIR), three villages were selected in the Lower Caura River Basin, state of Bolívar, Venezuela. All-night mosquito collections were conducted between March 2008-January 2009 using CDC light traps and Mosquito Magnet® Liberty Plus. Human landing catches were performed between 06:00 pm-10:00 pm, when anophelines were most active. Four types of vegetation were identified. The Annual Parasite Index was not correlated with the type of vegetation. The least abundantly forested village had the highest anopheline abundance, biting rate and species diversity. Anopheles darlingi and Anopheles nuneztovari were the most abundant species and were collected in all three villages. Both species showed unique biting cycles. The more abundantly forested village of El Palmar reported the highest EIR. The results confirmed previous observations that the impacts of deforestation and resulting changes in vegetation cover on malaria transmission are complex and vary locally.
authors.affiliation: Dirección de Salud Ambiental, Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Salud, Maracay, Venezuela. rubiopalis@gmail.com
authors.forename: Yasmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rubio-Palis
authors.forename: Mariapia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bevilacqua
authors.forename: Domingo Alberto
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.forename: Jorge Ernesto
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Lya
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cárdenas
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Yarys
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Estrada
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Anaya
authors.forename: Ángela
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Martínez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology; D044822:Biodiversity; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D008297:Male; D011156:Population Density; D012307:Risk Factors; D045483:Rivers; D012621:Seasons; D014687:Venezuela / Q000453:epidemiology