[The anopheles of Niger]. / Les anophèles du Niger.

Nineteen species of Anopheles have been observed in the Republic of Niger but only Anopheles gambiae, An. arabiensis and An. funestus are of epidemiological importance as malaria vectors. The two species of the An. gambiae complex have the same breeding sites. But in a large part of the country they disappear all during the dry season because of the lack of adequate pools of water. Their survival is as yet an unexplained phenomenon. The most northern wet season distribution of An. gambiae complex, depending on the latitude of the intertropical front. An. funestus was no longer found after 1970 because its breeding places were destroyed both by dryness and human activity. The Republic of Niger is a border area between the palearctic Mediterranean biogeographical region and the Afrotropical one. Two different vectorial systems of malaria transmission are separated by the Sahara desert. The risk of importation of an African vector such as An. gambiae and a parasite such as Plasmodium falciparum must be considered. For the time being, the low volume of road traffic limits the risk but the construction of a paved Transsaharian highway with new human settlements and developing cultivated areas with irrigation increases the dangers of epidemic outbreaks in these oases.

[The progress of malaria in sahelian eastern Niger. An ecological disaster zone]. / Evolution du paludisme dans l'est sahélien du Niger. Une zone écologiquement sinistrée.

The south eastern part of the Republic of Niger was ecologically damaged by the dryness since 1971. Rainfall decreased by 30 to 40% as compared to 1961-70 and lake Chad retreated 100 km to the south. Now it does not reach any more the Republic of Niger. Malaria studies have been carried out in urban and suburban places in Zinder and in the Diffa area at the extreme east. In Zinder parasitic indexes (PI) after the rainy season were around 30% to 10% according to the situation of the corner in respect with surface waters during the rains. In dry season the index fell to 3%. In Diffa in a part of the city at high risk because lining the Komadougou river, PI was only 6.7% in October after the rains. Before 1970 PI recorded in Niamey were up to 50%. In Diffa area they were of 49% in N'Guigmi and 32% in Bosso, ecologically similar to Diffa. Obviously there was a sharp decrease of malaria which could be due to the disappearance of An. funestus after 1970. It was one of the main malaria vectors. Its larvae were developing in pools remaining after the rains with heavy standing vegetation. These breeding sites have been destroyed by both dryness and human activities. Now the area has became hypoendemic and is suitable for epidemic because population has not much immunity. A surveillance system for epidemic control should be settle.

[Eco-epidemiology of malaria in Niamey and in the river valley, the Republic of Niger, 1992-1995]. / Eco-épidémiologie du paludisme à Niamey et dans la vallée du fleuve, République du Niger, 1992-1995.

The Niger valley is an original ecosystem in the Sahelian belt. For more than 25 years it has been affected by dryness and rainfall decreased by more than 30% as compared to the period 1950-1960. Moreover the demography has sharply increased and the capital town Niamey grew by 10% a year. The Niger valley including Niamey has about 1 million inhabitants. Three sites have been selected to study the status of malaria and its evolution for the last 30 years: Niamey, Karma 40 km on the N.W. on the river and the nearby fossil valley of Fatay-Karma. In the sixties the malaria vectors were An. gambiae, An. arabiensis et An. funestus. The last species was no more harvested after 1970 because its breeding places have been destroyed on the combined action of dryness and human activities. In Niamey, parasite index was very low in the dry season but grew by 5 to 10 times during the rainy season to reach 50% in certain corners. The highest plasmodic index (PI) were recorded along the river banks where vectors are found all the year long. It decreases in the central part of the city and becomes very low in some peripheral suburban settlements. This situation is quite different of most of the cities of the area where prevalence decrease from outskirts to city centre. The serology confirms these points. In Karma, along the Niger and despite a perennial transmission, the PI removes low as well as the malaria antibodies, probably because of the self use of antimalarial drugs by the population. In Fatay-Karma the PI of 23.9% after the rainy season drops to 6% in the dry one. In data prior to 1970 the PI was over 60%, reaching 89% in young children of Niamey suburbs. Obviously it has strongly decreased. It is very likely that this is due partly to the disappearance of An. funestus after the drought.

L'anophelisme au Niger et sur les frontieres sahariennes

L'anophelisme au Niger comporte 18 especes; y compris deux especes jumelles du complexe anopheles gambiae. Les vecteurs majeurs sont anopheles gambiae s.l. dans la majeure partie du pays et anopheles funestus; associes a anopheles nili sur les berges du fleuve