title: Implications for changes in Anopheles darlingi biting behaviour in three communities in the peri-Iquitos region of Amazonian Peru.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malaria transmission in the peri-Iquitos region of Amazonian Peru has been designated as seasonal and hypo-endemic with recently described hyper-endemic hotspots. Despite relatively recent distribution of long-lasting insecticidal bed nets (LLINs), malaria in Amazonian Peru persists and increased substantially in 2014 compared to previous years. Anopheles darlingi, identified as the main malaria vector, is known for its variable behaviour depending on locality and environment.
  
  
  METHODS
  To evaluate vector biology metrics in relation to seasonality and malaria transmission, mosquito collections were carried out in three localities in the peri-Iquitos region, Loreto, Peru in 2011-2012. Human landing catch (HLC) collection method, Shannon (SHA) and CDC trap types were compared for effectiveness in a neotropical setting. Abundance, human biting rate and entomological inoculation rate (EIR) were measured to provide an updated view of transmission patterns post-LLIN distribution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HLC collected significantly more anopheline mosquitoes than SHA and CDC light traps. Anopheles darlingi was the most prevalent species in all three villages (84% overall). Biting patterns varied depending on trap type, season and village. EIR varied temporally (monthly) and spatially and the highest (2.52) occurred during the 2012 malaria outbreak in Cahuide. Unexpectedly there was a high infection rate (1.47 and 1.75) outside the normal malaria transmission season, coincident with a second local outbreak in Cahuide. The first identification of Anopheles dunhami and Anopheles oswaldoi C in Peru, using molecular markers, is also reported in this study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data underscore the importance of HLC as the most meaningful collection method for measuring vector biology indices in this region. The highest monthly EIR provides additional evidence of seasonal transmission in riverine localities correlated with high river levels, and An. darlingi as the only contributor to transmission. The trend of an increase in outdoor-biting together with early-evening infected mosquitoes may undermine the effectiveness of LLINs as a primary malaria intervention.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. mmorenoleirana@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Asociación Benéfica PRISMA, Lima, Peru. msaavedraromero75@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marlon P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Saavedra
authors.affiliation: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA. sara.bickersmith@health.ny.gov.
authors.forename: Sara A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bickersmith
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany (State University of New York), Albany, NY, USA. wlainhart@albany.edu.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lainhart
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicine Tropical "Alexander von Humboldt", Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. ctong32@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Iquitos, Peru. ffalare@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Freddy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alava
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. jvinetz@ucsd.edu.|Instituto de Medicine Tropical "Alexander von Humboldt", Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. jvinetz@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vinetz
authors.affiliation: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA. jan.conn@health.ny.gov.|Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany (State University of New York), Albany, NY, USA. jan.conn@health.ny.gov.
authors.forename: Jan E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Conn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008288:Malaria / Q000635:transmission; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology